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EECOLLECTIONS 



AND 



PKIVATE MEMOIRS 



OF 



WASHINGTON, 

BY HIS ADOPTED SON, , ^"^ / 

GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS, 

WITH 

A MEMOIR OF THE AUTHOR, 

BY HIS daughter; 

AND 

ILLUSTKATJVE AND EXPLANATORY NOTES, 

BY- 
BENSON J. LOSSING. 



" FiKST IN War, Fikst in Peace, and First in the Hearts of his Countrymen." 

Gttt. Hiiiry Lee's OraHon, 



WITH ILLUSTRATIONS 



PHILADELPHIA: 

J. W. BRADLEY, 48 K FOURTH STREET. 

186 1. 



^^:t 



.C9^ 



4- 



Entered, accordini; to Act of Congress, in the year 1859, 

I B Y M R S. M A R T C U S T I S L E E, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States, for the Eastern 
District of Virginia. 



SAVAGK & MCCKKA, STKKKOT YPK KS, 
13 Clinniherti Street, N. Y. 



INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. 



The men and women who were coteraporary with "Washington 
have nearly all passed away, and in a few years every tongue 
that n^'ght now speak of personal recollections of the Father of 
his Country will be silent, and that for ever. 

As we recede from the age of Washington, and history takes 
the place of verbal traditions in giving a narrative of the events 
of those days, we become more and more anxious to garner, in 
memory and in books, the precious seeds of information concern- 
ing the men whose names stand prominently on the records of 
those events. Especially do we desire to know all about Wash- 
ington, the great central figure of the group of patriots whom we 
have been taught to revere as the founders of the republic. 

We feel confident, therefore, that a work like this, containing 
the minute details of much of Washington's private life, as well 
as his public career (which general history does not reveal) , and 
related, too, by a member of Washington's own family — one 
who lived with him from infancy until his nineteenth year — will 
be peculiarly acceptable to the American public. 

In this work, new phases of Washington's character are dis- 
played. We see him as a private citizen — as a plain f-^vmer — 
as the head of a family. 

The correspondence between Washington and his adopted son, 
while the latter was in college, first at Princeton and after- 
ward at Annapolis (never before published), will be found 
deeply interesting, especially to our young men. Washington's 
letters display the fatherly anxiety and solicitude with which he 
saw the child of his adoption, sometimes giving promises of great 
improvement and future usefulness, and at others pursuing a dis- 
appointing course, and awakening painful doubts concerning the 



4 INTRODUCTORY REJIARKS. 

character of his manhood. These called from Washington 
words of great wisdom ; and the advice contained in his letters 
to young Custis we would commend to the careful considera- 
tion of every young man starting out in life. 

The general arrangement of the whole work, and the elabo- 
rate explanatory and illustrative notes to the Recollections, by 
the editor, whose familiarity with the subject is well known, so 
connect and generalize the desultory sketches of the author as 
to make the work an interesting Life op Washington. In these 
notes will be found much rare matter never before presented in 
a collected form. 

The correspondence between Washington and the father of 
the author of these Recollections, during the Revolution (printed 
in the Appendix, and now for the first time made public), will 
be found especially interesting. Their letters treat chiefly of 
private aflTairs, and give us a vivid picture of Washington's 
sagacious views in relation to the management of property. 
They also show the wonderful capacity and adaptation of his 
mind in giving close and lucid attention to private concerns, 
wliile engaged in the most arduous and momentous public 
duties. Two of Mr. Custis's orations ; the famous oration of 
General Heniy Lee on the death of Washington ; an interest- 
ing account of the presentation of a ring to Lafayette by Custis 
at the tomb of Washington ; a specimen of Washington's care 
and exactness in the management of his agricultural affairs ; 
and a notice of all the original portraits of Washington, are 
also printed in the Appendix. 

The memoir of Mr. Custis, by his daughter, which properly 
forms a part of the work, will be found highly interesting, the 
subject being enriched by the introduction of very curious mat- 
ter pertaining to the earlier history of the family. 

With these few observations, we submit the work to the pub- 
lic, feeling a pride in offering one so intrinsically valuable to 
every student of our history and lover of his country. 

The Publishers. 

New York, August, 1859. 



CONTENTS. 



Memoir of George Washington Parke Cuaris page 9 

Original Correspondence between Washington and Custis 73 

RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Editor's Preface 119 

Author's Preface 121 

CHAPTER I. 
The Mother of Washington 125 

CHAPTER II. 
Washington at Mount Vernon 151 

CHAPTER III. 
Battle of Princeton and Death op General Mercer 179 

CHAPTER IV. 
Battle op Germantown 193 

CHAPTER V. 
The Battle op Monmouth 211 

CHAPTER VI. 
The Surrender at Yorktown 229 

CHAPTER VII. 
Washington's Life-Guard 256 

CHAPTER VIII. 
The Hunting-Shirt 264 

CHAPTER IX. 
Washington's Headquarters 273 

CHAPTER X. 
Mysteries op the Revolution 289 

CHAPTER XI. 
The Indian Prophecy 300 

CHAPTER XII. 
Daniel Morgan 308 

CHAPTER XIII. 
Robert Morris 323 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Thomas Nelson 333 

CHAPTER XV. 
Alexander Hamilton 340 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Henry Lee 354 



6 CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
Bihth-night Balls and the Theatre page 364 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Life at Mount Vernon 370 

CHAPTER XIX. 

"Washington as a Sportsjian 384 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Pirst Year of the Presidenot 393 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Washington's Home and Household 406 

CHAPTER XXII. 
The Retired President 433 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
Outline Life-Pictures 461 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Last Hours of Washington 472 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Personal Appearance of Washington 480 

CHAPTER XXVr. 
Martha Washington 495 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Portraits of Washington 516 

APPENDIX. 
I. Original Correspondence between General Washington and 

John Parke Custis 533 

II. Oration at the Funeral Solemnities to General James M. 

LiNGAN, BY G. W. P. Custis 571 

III. Address at the Celebration of the Russian Victories over 

Napoleon, by G. W. P. Custis 585 

IV. Presentation of a Ring to General Lafayette, by G. W. P. 

Custis, at the Tomb of Washington 591 

V. Directions for the Management of his Farms, by General 

Washington 595 

VI. Oration on the Death of Washington, delivered before Con- 
gress, by General Henrt Lee 615 

VII. Original.Portraits of Washington 624 



ILLUSTRATIONS. 

George Washington Parke Custis Frontispiece 

Colonel George Washington Opposite page 21 

Mrs. Eleanor Parke Lewis (Nelly Custis) " " 45 

Mrs. Martha Washington (Mrs. Custis) " " 495 

Facsimile op Washington's Account with Miss Custis. . " " 496 

FiosiMiLE OF Washington's Record of Survev. , , " " 445 



M E M I R 



OF 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTliS, 



BY HIS DAUGHTER 



THE EPISTOLARY CORRESPONDENCE 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTTS. 



MEMOIR 



OF 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 



• It is with mucli diffidence that I offer to the public the 
Recollections of my father, in their present unfinished 
state. They were written by him at intervals of many 
months, sometimes of a year, during a period of thirty 
years, and were nearly all first published in the National 
Intelligencer, printed at "Washington city, in the District 
of Columbia. They have been extensively copied by 
the press throughout the Union, and sometimes quoted 
by historians, but from the perishable cliaracter of 
the vehicle by which they were conveyed to the pub- 
lic, it is to be doubted whether a perfect copy of the 
series is preserved, except the one contained in this 
volume. 

For many years my father, influenced by the urgent 
solicitations of friends in all parts of the Union, enter- 
tained a design to • arrange and revise his Recollections, 
supply omissions, and have them published in the more 



10 ME^IOIR OF 

durable form of a volume, as a legacy to his countrymen. 
But this design was never carried out ; and now, actu- 
ated by filial affection, and a feeling that these recollec- 
tions of the Father of his Country, by his adopted son, 
should not be lost — that leaves so precious should not 
be scattered to the winds — I have undertaken to per- 
form what he left undone. 

It seemed to me that a brief memoir of the author of 
the Recollections, and some notices of his family, connected 
as they have been with stirring scenes in the history 
of the past, would be acceptable to the public. 

The following letter, also, written by an old and 
esteemed friend, so well expresses the feelings of all 
who knew my father, and desired the pubHcation of his 
Recolleciiom in peraianent form, that I have taken the 
liberty of inserting it here : — 

" "Washington, October 6, 1858. 

" My dear Madam : Many causes, unnecessary to men- 
tion, have prevented the fulfilment of my cherished pur- 
pose to express the pleasure with which I learned yonr 
intention of preparing the writings of your venerable 
father for the press, to be preceded by a notice of his life 
from the best pen, that of his only child. An intimate 
and unclouded friendship of more than thirty years with 
your beloved and lamented parents, gave me advantages 
for discerning and appreciating those rare and bright 
virtues which have made Arlington a place of frequent 
resort to many of the eminent and good of this and 
other countries. 

"Your father was distinguished by talents which 
would have made him eminent in any profession to 
which he might have devoted himself; but his ample 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 11 

fortune, extensive and generous hospitality, and the 
care of large estates, led him rather to agricultural pur- 
suits, general literature, and the indulgence of his taste 
for the fine arts, than to a profound study of science or 
philosophy. 

" He read much, his memory was quick and retentive, 
and his knowledge of history and the public affairs of 
tlie world was remarkably full and accurate. To the 
history of his own country he had devoted much time 
and special attention, and was more familiar with the 
character of the men and events of the Revolution, than 
any one I have kno^vn. 

" Probably no one of his cotemporaries so well under- 
stood, or so profoundly admired the retired and less 
obvious excellences, and the great public virtues and 
acts of Washington. The glory of that great man ever 
encompassed him, and inspired him with enthusiasm and 
eloquence. In his childhood he learned from Washing- 
ton lessons of patriotism which were never forgotten. 
Hence, in important political questions he was deeply 
interested, and amid all the sectional controversies of his 
day he stood firm to the Union. 

" He was warm and constant in friendship, had a high 
sense of what is due (in conversation) to absent acquaint- 
ances, and was ever reluctant to attend to remarks dis- 
paraging or injurious to others. He sympathized quickly 
with distress, and the poor found in him a ready and 
liberal benefactor. 

" Nothing could exceed the easy grace and politeness 
of his manners, his uniform and benevolent cheerfulness, 
and the delightful eloquence of his conversation. There 
was the blending of good humor, cordiality, interest in 



12 MEMOIR OF 

those whom he addressed, with the riches of a brilliant 
poetic imagination, throwing light and joy upon all 
around. Those who visited Arlington immediately found 
themselves at home. Every want was anticipated by 
kind attentions, and nothing was omitted which could 
contribute to their happiness ; they seemed to realize the 
return of the days when Washington himself welcomed 
his guests at Mount Vernon and presided at the feast. 

" The writings you. Madam, are about to publish, will 
be welcomed by the people of the United States as 
historical papers of great value ; and those containing 
recollections of Washington, as precious memorials of 
the life and habits of the Father of his Country in retire- 
ment, warm with the love and gratitude of his devoted 
son, and glowing with his genius. The discourses of 
your father on the death of General Lingan, and that 
on the overthrow of Napoleon, were greatly admired 
at the time they were spoken, and should be preserved 
as specimens of striking and commanding eloquence.* 
Your father was an orator, around whom the public 
ever thronged with delight, and who that ever heard 
him can forget the vivacity, grace, and interest of his 
conversation, 

" The filial duty in which you so promptly engaged, 
and which you have so well performed, is a high tribute 
to the memory of Washington (with which that of your 
honored father is indissolubly united), and a service to 
that country which stands the only adequate monument 
of its great chief But I will not presume to extend 
these observations farther, since I can add nothing to 
your information, and should fill a volume to convey my 

* These may be found in the Appendix. 



GEOEGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 13 

own pleasing recollections, or to express adequately my 
attachment and obligations to your family. 

" I have the honor to remain, my dear Madam, 
" Most respectfully your friend, 

" R. R. GURLEY. 
" Mrs. Mary Custis Lee, Arlington" 

The memoir of one so long known among us as the 
adopted child of Mount Vernon, whose mind was richly 
stored with memories of the past, whose heart and home 
was open to all who loved to hear of our immortal 
Washington, should be deeply interesting to the world. 

The records of his early youth are somewhat imper- 
fect, as those who could have best furnished the details 
have passed away ; nor do we find any letters from his 
foster-father until the commencement of his collegiate 
life at Princeton. 

Of his paternal ancestry we have accounts gleaned from 
a chest of old papers, very curious and amusing (though 
many have mouldered), containing letters, commissions, 
deeds and patents for land during the reigns of James 11., 
William and Mary, and Queen Anne ; and a commission 
for Major-General John Custis, in 1687, from Johannes, 
Lord Howard of Effingham, his majesty's lieutenant and 
governor-general of Virginia, appointing him collector 
of customs on the Eastern Shore. Mr. Custis had previ- 
ously been made major-general to command the forces 
in that quarter during Bacon's rebellion.* He was the 

* The episode in Virginia history, known as Bacon's rebellion, occurred in 1675 
and 1676. The immediate cause of the outbreak was the dangei'S threatened by- 
Indians from the north, who had made incursions into the settlements on the James 
river. It was, however, an outburst of republican feeling, v/hich had long been 
growing in the colony, and which had become much exasperated by the acts of Gov- 
ernor Berkeley and the aristocracy. Finally, the republicans, under pretence of 
opposing the Indians, seized their arms, and led on by Nathaniel Bacon, an ener- 



14 MEMOIR OF 

owner of a large estate, including several islands. Among 
these was Smith's island, w^hich is still in possession of the 
family. General Custis married three wives. In favor of 
each he made a separate will, providing amply for the 
comfort of his widow, and even binding his successor in 
her affections (should she have one) by a heavy forfeit, 
to maintain the dwelling in the same state in which he 
left it. He also devised to her, her own wearing apparel, 
and any stuffs ordered for her that might be en route 
from England. To the last one. Madam Tabitha, who 
survived him, and married Colonel Hill, he bequeathed a 
handsome riding horse and accoutrements. His five chil- 
dren, John, Hancock, Henr}^, Sorrowful Margaret, and 
Elizabeth, were all apportioned ; and legacies in land and 
money were left to various friends and to his sisters. 
The eldest son, John, was especially provided with landed 
property, out of which a hundred pomids were to be ex- 
pended yearly for the maintainance and education in 
England of his son, John, the immediate ancestor of the 
author of the Recollections, whose portrait is preserved 
at Arlington house. In it, his hand grasps a book, near 
which a tulip is placed. The book contained an essay 

getic young patriot, appeared in formidable array. The movement was without the 
frovcrnor's permission, and he sent troojis to arrest the rebel, as he termed Bacon. 
This led to energetic action. Tlepublicanism had become a power in Virginia, and, 
at its command, the governor was compelled, on the 4th of July, 1676 (a hundred 
years before t!ie great Declaration of Independence), to sign a commission, acknowl- 
edging Bacon a member of the house of burgesses, to which the people had elected 
him ; and also to give him the commission of a general of a thousand men. Finally, 
the governor summoned all the royalists to his standard, declared Bacon a rebel, and 
received succor from England. Bacon and his troops, hearing of tJie approach of an 
overwhelming force,, laid old Jamestown in ashes, and fled beyond the York river, 
where he died of malignant fever. His followers Avere dispersed, and tlie civil war 
ended. Had Bacon been successful, history would have called him a patriot instead 
of a rebel. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 15 

upon that flower, written by liimself. Many works in 
the library, classical and scientific, witli his name pre- 
fixed in German text, embellished with many flourishes 
(for he seems to have prided himself upon his chirog- 
raphy), shows that he was a man of letters, though of 
an eccentric genius. 

This John married at "Queene's creeke," on York 
river, Frances, the eldest daughter of Colonel Daniel 
Parke. She and her sister, Lucy (afterward the wife of 
Colonel William Byrd, of Westover,*) resided there Avith 
their mother (whose maiden name was Jane Ludwell) 
in great seclusion, by the express desire of their father, 
then seeking his fortunes abroad.^ The mother, in many 

* Colonel William Byrd was a distinguished member of the king's counsel in 
Virginia, toward the close of the seventeenth century. When, in 1699, about three 
hundred of the Huguenots, or French Protestants, arrived in Virginia, after fleeing 
from persecution in their native land, he received them with fatherly aflfection, and 
gave them the most liberal assistance. He was generous to the poor around him. 
He was well educated, and his library was the largest on the western continent. In 
1723, he was one of the commissioners for establishing the boundary line between 
Virginia and North Carolina. He died at an advanced age, in 1743. 

t The following letter from Colonel Parke to his daughter, Frances, who married 
Colonel Custis, is preserved at Arlington House. The orthography of the original 
is retained : — 

" St. James' October y« 20"> 
" My Dear Faknt — 1697. 

"I Rec''J y first letter, and he shure you be as good as y word and mind y writ- 
ing and everything else you have learnt ; and doe not learn to Romp, but behave 
yselfe soberly and like A Gentlewoman. Mind Reading; and carry y''self so v' 
Everyboddy may Respect you. Be Calm and Obligeing to all the servants, and 
when you speak doe it mildly Even to the poorest slave ; if any of the Servants 
commit small faults y' are of no consequence, do you hide them. If you understand 
of any great faults they commit, acquaint y'' mother, but doe not aggravate the fiuilt. 
I am well, and have sent you everything you desired, and, please God I doe well, I 
shall see you ere long. Love y sister and y friends; be dutiful to y mother. 
This' with my blessing is from y^ lo : father 

"Danl. Paekk. 

" Give my Duty to v'' Grandfather, and my love to y' Mother and Sister and 
Bcrviss to all friends. My Cosen Brown gives you her serviss, and y Aunts and 
Cousins their love." 



16 MEMOIR OF 

long and urgent letters, implored liis return, pleading 
the state of her health as rendering her unequal to 
guard her treasures from the admiring eyes which pur- 
sued them whenever they were seen. Colonel Custis, 
Avith his foreign education and great wealth, was no 
despicable suitor. Colonel Parke gave his approval,* 
and the haughty beauty yielded. He had been fore- 
warned that he could hope for no complaisance from his 
bride, whose temper was little calculated to allow happi- 
ness in her presence ; but with the true spirit of a lover 
and the gallantry of the age, he professed to feel that to 
possess her would be heaven enough for him.-j- Their 

* The father of young Colonel Custis received the following letter from Colonel 

Parke on the subject : — 

"London, August 25, 1705. 

" Sir : I received yours relating to your son's desire of marrying my daughter, 
and your consent if I thought well of it. You may easily inform yourself that my 
daughter, Frances, will be heiress to all the land my father left, which is not a little, 
nor the worst. My personal estate is not very small in that country, and I have but 
two daughters, and there is no likelihood of my having anj"- more, as matters are, I 
being obliged to be on one side of the ocean, and my wife on the other. I do not 
know your young gentleman, nor have you or he thought fit to send me an account 
of his real and personal effects ; however, if my daughter likes him, I will give her 
upon her marriage with him, half as much as he can make appear he is worth. 

" I have no one else to give my estate to but my daughters. This is what I think 

convenient to write at present. My service to you and all friends in Virginia. 

" From your humble servant, 
"To Colonel Custis." "Daniel Parke. 

t The following letter of young Custis to his intended bride a few months before 
their marriage, in which, according to the custom of the time, he calls her his 
" Fidelia," is a fair specimen of passionate love-letters in the old colonial days. Its 
tone is quite different from that which characterizes the inscription upon his tomb, 
in which he so pointedly, though indirectly affirms, that his life, while he lived 
with his " Fidelia," was so unhappy that he considered it a blank in his existence : — 

" WiLLiAMSBURGH, February 4, 1705. 

" May angels guard my dearest Fidelia and deliver her safe to my arms at our 
next meeting ; and sure they wont refuse their protection to a creature so pure and 
charming, that it would be easy for them to mistake her for one of themselves. 
If you could but believe how entirely you possess the empire of my heart, you would 
easily ciedit me, when I tell you, that I can neither think nor so much as dream of 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 17 

connubial enjoyments Avere of short duration, and in 
mercy to both, perhaps, after the birth of two children 
(a son and daughter), the small-pox ended her life at 
Arlington, on the Eastern Shore. The husband lived 
many years afterward, and directed in his will that a 
tomb-stone of white marble (now in existence) should 
be placed over his grave, inscribed with the following 
epitaph, to perpetuate his infelicity : — 

"UNDER THIS MARBLE TOMB LIES THE BODY 

OF THE Hon. JOHN CUSTIS, Esq., 

OF THE CITY OF WILLIAMSBURG, 

AND PARISH OF BRUTON. 

FORMERLY OF HUNGAR'S PARISH, ON THE 

EASTERN SHORE 

OF \1RGINIA, AND COUNTY OF NORTHAMPTON, 

AGED 71 YEARS, AND YET LIVED BUT SEVEN YEARS, 

WHICH WAS THE SPACE OF TIME HE KEPT 

A bachelor's HOINIE at ARLINGTON, 

ON THE EASTERN SHORE OF VIRGESTIA." 

On the opposite side is the following : — 

"THIS INSCRIPTION PUT ON HIS TOMB WAS BT 
niS OWN POSITIVE ORDERS."* 

any other subject than the enchanting Fidelia. You will do me wrong if you sus- 
pect that there ever was a man created that loved with more tenderness and sincerity 
than I do, and I should do you wrong if I could imagine there ever was a nympli 
that deserved it better than you. Take this for granted, and then fancy how uneasy 
I am like to be under the unhappiness of your absence. Figure to yourself what 
tumults there will arise in my blood, what a fluttering of the spirits, what a disorder 
of the pulse, what passionate wishes, what absence of thought, and what crowding 
of sighs, and then imagine how unfit I shall be for business ; but returning to the 
dear cause of my uneasiness ; O the torture of six months' expectation ! If it must 
be so long and necessity will till then interpose betwixt you and my inclinations, I 
must submit, though it be as unwillingly as pride submits to superior virtue, or 
envy to superior success. Pray think of me, and believe that Veramour is entirely 
and eternally yours. Adieu. 

"I beg you write as soon as you receive this, and commit your letter to the same 
trusty hand that brings you this." 

* In his will he directed his son to place this inscription upon his tomb, and pro- 
vided for his disinheritance in the event of his omitting to do so. The tomb is in 
the form of a sarcophagus, about five feet high and as many long. 

2 



18 MEMOIR OF 

The daughter of Colonel Custis, Fanny Parke, was 
born in 1710, and married a Captain Dausie, contrary to 
the wishes of both father and brother, in which she, no 
doubt, followed the bent of her " own phantasy," as we 
find many letters extant from her suitors, who were quite 
eloquent in setting forth their pretensions, especially, in 
point of property. The old gentleman was over fastid- 
ious, and would not listen favorably to any of them ; so 
it ended, as often it happens, in her marrying the least 
desirable of them all. In his replies. Colonel Custis 
always remarked, as a reason for his objections : " I have 
but two children, and they must inherit all I have." 
Daniel, the son, was the object of very ambitious views. 
His fine person, large fortune, and irreproachable char- 
acter, made him quite a desirable match for the fair 
dames of Virginia, and many negotiations were com- 
menced.* His cousin, Evelyn Byrd of Westover, was 
proposed, but though Colonel Custis desired earnestly 

* Mrs. Parke Pepper, wife of a London merchant, and a relative, seems to have 
desired a matiimonial alliance between the families, as appears by the following 
letter written by Colonel Custis to her in 1731 : — 

"It is natural to believe that I must always value a family to whom my two dear 
pledges are so nearly allied. I do not remember that I expressed anything of 
matching my daughter to any one. I am sure I had no such thought, so Mr. S. 
must misapprehend me. Your son may deserve a better match than my daughter, 
but the distance of place and consanguinity would render such a thing impracticable. 
She has lately been engaged to a man much against my inclination, and so near, 
that the wedding-clothes were made, but it is all over now, and she protests she will 
never marry him or any one else. My son, I believe, is fixed in his affections, only 
we think both two young as yet. It is an unhappiness that my children's relations 
by their mother are placed so far distant. I agree with you, that it might do him 
good to make you a visit and see the world, but I could not spare him so far from 
me while I live, if he might have the empress of the universe with the whole creation 
for a fortune. My children arc all the comfort I have in the world, for whose sakes 
I have kept myself single, and am determined so to do as long as it shall please God 
to continue them to me. I no ways doubt of my young kinswoman's virtues and 
qualifications, and heartily wish her a husband equal to her merits. I hope Mr. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PAHKE CUSTIS. 19 

the connection, he could not be brought to terms ; and 
at length Colonel Byrd, in a very decided letter, in 
which he tells the wooer how much he regrets his 
father's unpracticability, as he should have preferred hun 
to all others, adds, that he can not trust to such a 
" j)hantome as Colonel Custis's generosity." 

"We rather suspect Daniel Avas not very earnest in the 
pursuit, as beautiful Martha Dandridge soon effaced all 
other impressions from his heart, and was not so readily 
relinquished. 

She was the most attractive belle at the court of 
Williamsburg,* and won the affections of all by her 
grace of manner and heartfelt cheerfulness. Governor 
Goochf presided over the Old Dominion, and Colonel 
Custis then held the high office of king's counsellor. 
Long did he refuse to sanction his son's choice, but at 
length won over by the report he heard on all sides of 
the charms and virtues of Miss Dandridge, and especially 
by a message received from her, he yielded, and we 
find the following memorandum in his own hand- 
writing: "I give my free consent to the union of 

Pepper will accept of my best respects. The same salute t*^ you and yours. I am, 

hon'd madam, Your most obedient .«'' , ant, 

"John Cusxis. 

"P. S. — If Colonel Parke had lived to see my son, he would have seen his owa 
picture to greater perfection than ever Sir Godfrey KncUer could draw it. — J. C." 

This postscript refers to the portrait of Colonel Parke, now at Arlington house, 
painted by that eminent artist, and to which allusion is made in another part of this 
memoir. 

* Williamsburg was the residence of the royal governors of Virginia until the old 
war for independence, in 1775. Governor Nicholson made it the capital in 1698. In 
its palmiest days its population did not exceed twenty-five hundred, yet it was the 
centre of Virginia's social refinement. 

t William Gooch was governor of Virginia from 1727 until 1749, a longer admin 
istratlon than that of any of the royal governors of that province. 



20 MEMOIR OF 

my son, Daniel, with Miss Martha Danclriclge."* This 
was a concession he certainly never had cause to regret, 
as he soon was an admiring witness of their domestic 
bliss in their pleasant home on the banks of the Pamunkey 
They had four children, Daniel Parke, Fanny Parke, John 
Parke (the father of the author of the RecoUedions), 
and Martha Parke. The two eldest children died very 
young ; and it is said that grief for their loss so preyed 
upon the mind of the devoted father, who was equally 
endowed with deep affections, as with manly beauty, 
that it hastened his death, which occurred at the age 
of thirty years. He left a young widow with two small 
children, and a large fortune. His family mourned the 
loss of a most tender parent, and his numerous servants 
an indulgent master.^ 

* On that occasion a friend of the suitor wrote to him as follows : — 
" Dear Sir : This comes at last to bring you the news that I believe will be most 
agreeable to you of any you have ever heard — that you m ay not be long in suspense 
I shall tell you at once — I am empowered by your father to let you know that ha 
heartily and willingly consents to your marriage with Miss Dandridge — that he has 
so good a character of her, that he had rather you should have her than any lady in 
Virginia — nay, if possible, he is as much enamored with her character as you are with 
her person, and this is owing chiefly to a prudent speech of "her own. Hurry down 
immediately for fear he should change the strong inclination he has to your manying 
directly. I stayed with him all night, and presented Jack with my little Jack's horse, 
tn-idle, and saddle, in your name, which was taken as a singular favor. I shall say 
no more, as I expect to see you soon to-morrow, but conclude what I really am, 
"Your most obliged and affectionate humble servant, 
" To Colonel Daniel Parke Custis, New Kent." "J. Power. 

The "Jack" referred to in this letter was a small negro boy to whom the old gen- 
tleman had taken a most violent fancy ; and on one occasion when in great displeas- 
ure with his son, Daniel, on account of his refusing to concur in his ambitious views, 
he made^a will, duly recorded, leaving all his fortune to this boy. Through the soli- 
citations of his friends and his own paternal feelings, when the ill-humor had vanish- 
ed, he destroyed that will, but manumitted the boy with his mother, Alice, and pro- 
vided them with a most comfortable maintenance. 

t Daniel Parke Custis was born at " Queene's creeke," according to the record in 
a family Bible at Arlington House, on the 15th of October, 1711. There is also a 



^s^-^'i.'/S 





GEORGE WASIIIXGTON PARKE CUSTI3. 21 

The circumstances attending tlie union of Mrs. Custis 
with Washington are well known^ and a narrative of them 
will be found in the Recollections''^ Indeed, her life from 
that time became a matter of history. The death of her 
only remaining daughter, Martha, at the age of sixteen, 
threw a cloud of the deepest sorrow over the happiness 
of the family at Mount Vernon. If we may judge from 
a miniature taken by the elder Peale, and now in the 
possession of his son, Rembrandt, and two other j)ortraits, 
she was endowed Avith rare beauty, and yet of a com- 
plexion so deeply brunette, that she was always called 
the " dark lady." Her delicate health, or, perhaps her fond 
affection for the only father she had ever known, so 
endeared her to the "general," that he knelt at her 
dying bed, and with a passionate burst of tears, prayed 
aloud that her life might be spared, unconscious that 
even then her spirit had departed. 

Martha expired at Mount Yernon on the 19th of June, 
1773. Washington had been absent at Williamsburg, 
on ]3riblic duty, for sometime, and on his return found 
her in the last stage of consumption. He had arranged 
to accompany the governor of Virginia (Lord Dunmore) 
to the western country, but the death of Miss Custis 
caused him to remain at home a long time to console 
his wife, and recover from the effects of the blow. In 

record there, that " Governor S])ottswood, the Honorable William Byrd, Esq., and 
Mrs. Hannah Ludwell, were godfathers and godmother." There were some por- 
traits of the Custis family at Abington, on the Potomac, which have long since 
crumbled into dust. One who bore the name of Custis is remembered as being 
represented as a soldier, in a complete suit of 'armor; and two now at Arlington, 
painted by Van Dyke, tradition says came from Holland, where the family origi- 
nated. The portraits of Daniel Parke Custis, husband of Miss Dandridge (after- 
ward Mrs. Washington), and of his father, are both at Arlington house. 
* See sketch of Martha Washington. 



22 MEMOIR OP 

testimony of her love for her stepfather, Miss Custis be- 
queatlied to him all of her large fortmie, which was en- 
tirely in money. 

Of Colonel Daniel Parke, already mentioned as one of 
the ancestors of the present Custis family, and of his 
eventful career, an interesting volume might be written. 
This is not the place for even a very extended notice 
of him ; yet some facts and correspondence, having a re- 
lation to the family, seem to find here an appropriate 
position. Besides this, they give us glimpses of char- 
acter in the olden time, which will not fail to gratify the 
reader and pardon a digression. 

There is a splendid portrait of Colonel Parke at Ar- 
lington house, painted by Sir Godfrey Kneller, in which 
he is represented as arrayed in a coat of crimson velvet 
embroidered with gold, and which well becomes his fine 
figure and eminently handsome face. He was born in 
the colonies, but passed most of his life in England, 
where he possessed valuable estates, leaving his wife 
with two daughters in charge of his Virginia property, 
which was also extensive. She found this charge so 
burdensome, that in her letters, as we have already 
observed, she begs to be relieved, and urges his return. 
She even wrote to his merchant and man of business, 
IVIicajah Perry, to use his influence in persuading hun to 
return. But the fascinations of the court prevailed over 
a sense of duty, and while there he was appointed aid- 
de-camp to the great Duke of Marlborough, attended 
him in the battle of Blenheim, and was made the bearer 
of the following letter to the Duchess of Marlborough: — 

"I have not time to say more, but to beg you will 
give my duty to the queen, and let her know her army 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 23 

has had a glorious victory. M. Tallarcl and two other 
generals are in my coach, and I am following the rest. 
The bearer, my aid-de-camp, Colonel Parke, will give her 
an account of what has passed. I shall do it in a day or 
two by another more at large.'-''- Marlborough. 

''August 13, 1704." 

It is a high honor to be the bearer of tidings of victory 
to a monarch, and at that time a reward of £500 was 
usually given by the sovereigns of England for such 
services. Colonel Parke, whose estate was ample, re- 
quested Queen Anne to give him her portrait instead. 
The request was granted, and the portrait was painted in 
miniature, and set with diamonds. Colonel Parke's por- 
trait, painted in 1707, shows this miniature pendant from 
liis neck by a red ribbon, Marlborough's despatch to the 
queen in his right hand, and the battle of Blenheim in 
the background. Another portrait of Colonel Parke, 
painted by Kneller, is still in the possession of William 
Dillon, Esq., wdiose late wife was his great-niece. 

It appears by the following letter to his daughter, that 
Colonel Parke went to Flanders as a volunteer, where, 
doubtless, his gallant conduct won for him his appoint- 
ment in the staff of Marlborough : — 

"St. James, 1702. 

"My Dear Fanny: I am going a volunteer under the 
Duke of Marlborough, to Flanders, where I served also 
in the last campaign with my Lord Arron, the Duke of 

* This battle was fought on the 2d of August, 1704, between the English and 
confederates, commanded by Marlborough, and the French and Bavarians under 
Marshal Tallard and the Elector of Bavaria. The loss of the latter was twenty- 
seven thousand killed and thirteen thousand prisoners. The English nation re- 
warded Marlborough with a large domain, and erected for him one of the finest scats 
in the kingdom, known as the domain and house of Blenheim. 



24 MEMOIR OF . qp 

Omiond's brother, and was in every action. God knows 
if I may ever see you more, but if I do not, I sliall take 
care to leave you and your sister in very ha23py circum- 
stances, therefore do not throw yourself away upon the 
first idle yomig man that offers if you have a mind to 
marry. I know it is the desire of all young people to be 
married, and though very few are as happy after mar- 
riage as before, yet every one is Avilling to make the 
experiment at their own expense. Consider who you 
marry is the greatest concern to you in the world. Be 
kind and good-natured to all your servants. It is much 
better to have them love you than fear you. My heart 
is in Virginia, and the greatest pleasure I propose to 
myself is the seeing you and your sister haj)py. That 
you may be ever so, is the earnest desire of your affec- 
tionate father, "Daniel Parke. 

" I got some reputation last summer, which I hope I 
shall not lose this ; I am promised the first old regiment 
that shall fall, being now made a colonel." 

Colonel Parke was afterward commissioned a general, 
and appointed governor of the Leeward islands. An 
old book in the Arlington library, written by George 
French, contains an account of his administration there, 
and of the rebellion in Antigua, by which it seems 
that he became obnoxious to a seditious faction, was 
overpowered by numbers, and when there were no hopes 
of safety showed an undaunted resolution. When le 
had scarcely a second left, in a personal defence, he de- 
fied the whole strength of the rebels, till at last, he 
received a shot in his thigh, which, though not mortal, 
disabled him, and he fell into the enemy's hands. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PAllKE CUSTIS. 25 

" They had now an opportunity of sending him away 
to what place and in what manner they think fit," says 
the account, " but instead thereof, they use him with the 
utmost contempt and inhumanity. They strip him of 
his clothes, kick, s^^urn at, and beat him with the butts 
of their muskets, by wliich means, at last, they break his 
back. They drag him out into the streets by a leg and 
arm, and his head trails and beats from step to step of 
the stone stairs at the entrance of his house, and he is 
dragged on the coarse gravelly street, which raked the 
skin from his bones. 

"These cruelties and tortures force tears from his 
eyes, and in this condition he is left expiring, exposed 
to the scorching sun, out of the heat of whi^h he begs 
to be removed. The good-natured woman, who, at his 
request, brought him water to quench his thirst, is 
threatened by one Samuel "Watkins to have a sword 
passed through her for her humanity, and the water is 
dashed out of her hands. He is insulted and reviled by 
every scoundrel, in the agonies of death, but makes no 
other return but these mild expressions : ' Gentlemen, if 
you have no sense of honor left, pray have some of 
humanity.' He gratefully owns the kindness of friends, 
and prays God to reward those who stood by him that 
day. At last he was removed into the house of one Mr. 
John Wright, near the place where he lay, and there, 
recommending his soul to God, with some pious ejacula- 
tions, he pays the great debt of nature, and death, less 
cruel than his enemies, put a period to his sufferings. 

"After they had surfeited themselves with cruelties, 
they plundered the general's house and broke open his 
store-houses, so that his estate must have suffered by 



26 MEVIOIR OF 

that day in money, plate, jewels, clothes, and household 
goods, by the most moderate computpttion, five thousand 
pounds sterling, for which his executors have obtained 
no satisfaction to this day. Thus died Colonel Parke, 
whose brave end shows him sufficiently deserving of the 
commission he bore, and by his death acquired an honor 
to his memory, which the base aspersions of his enemies 
could not overthrow." This tragedy occurred on the 
7th of December, 1710. 

Colonel Parke's will, in which he devised all of his for- 
tune in the Leeward islands to an illegitimate daughter, 
on condition that she should take his name and coatrof 
arms, naturally gave great offence to his children, and a 
tedious law-suit was the consequence. His legal de- 
scendants are still in possession of much of his property 
in Virginia, and part of the handsome service of plate 
presented to him by Queen Anne. His friends maintain 
that in his public career his life was irreproachable, and 
that loyalty to the queen was the cause of his destruc- 
tion ; yet his royal mistress forgot her favorite, allowed 
his murderers to hold his government of Antigua, and 
never remunerated his heirs for the losses sustained in 
her cause. The treatment he received is an emphatic 
example of the wisdom of the injunction, " Put not your 
trust in princes." 

Among the old family papers at Arlington house, I 
have found many amusing and interesting letters, written 
by Colonel William Byrd, of Westover (to whom refer- 
ence has already been made), who as we have observed, 
married a daughter of Colonel Parke, and was for a long 
time in London after the death of his father-in-law, at- 
tending to the settlement of that gentleman's estate. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON TARKE CUSTIS. 27 

As some of these letters have reference to family matters, 
and are interesting in themselves, I insert a few, believ- 
ing that they are not out of place here, considering their 
connection. They are addressed to Colonel John Cnstis, 
his brother-in-law. 

The following letter, in which reference is made to 
Colonel Parke, was written in Virginia two years before 
the tragedy occurred in Antigua : — 

« Octoler, 1709. 

" I have lately been favored with an unusual pleasure 
from Antigua, in which I find we have not altogether 
been forgotten. Our Father Parke says his time was 
very short and he could not write to you then, but is 
much in charity with us all. I give you joy on the 
blessing you have had of a daughter, and hope she will be 
an ornament to the sex, and a happiness to her parents. 
Our son sends you his dutiful respects, and I may ven- 
ture to say, as much for Miss Evelyn, who has grown a 
great romp, and enjoys very robust health. How is 
Madam Dunn? for there goes a prophecy about, that in 
the eastern parts of Virginia a parson's wife will, in the 
year of our Lord, 1710, have four children at a birth, 
one of which will be an admiral, and another Archbishop 
of Canterbury. What the other two will prove, the sybil 
can not positively say, but doubtless they will be some- 
thing extraordinary. 

" My choicest compliments to Mrs. Custis, and if Mrs. 

Dunn be not too demure a prude, now she is related to 

the church, I would send her my salutes in the best form. 

" Your most affectionate humble servant, 

W. Byrd. 
" To Colonel JoiiN Custis." 



28 MEMOIR OF 

On the 21st of January, 1715, Colonel Bjrd wrote to 
Colonel Custis, from London, as follows : — 

" Tis a singular pleasure to hear by my brigantine of 
my dear brother's recovery from so sharp and tedious an 
illness. I long to be with you, for this j)hace, that used 
to have so many charms is very tasteless, and though my 
person is here, my heart is in Virginia. My affairs suc- 
ceed well enough, but all solicitation goes on very slowly 
by reason that the ministry is taken up with the Rebel- 
lion, which is stni as flagrant as ever in Scotland, and 
my patron, the Duke of Argyle, commands there against 
them.'^ I am in perfect peace with all concerned in 
debts due from Colonel Parke. I have paid the most 
importunate, and allow interest for the bonds I can not 
yet discharge, and should be very easy if I could get the 
interest of his customhouse debt remitted, which I do 
not yet despair of I wish my dear brother a full con- 
firmation of his health. If he has the courage to venture 
upon another wife, I hope he will be more easy in his 
second choice than he was in his first.f 

" I am, with most entire affection, dear brother, 

"Your most obedient servant, W. Byrd." 

* King James II., was driven from the English throne in 1688. In 1715 his son, 
Edward, made an unsuccessful attempt, through the aid of the Scotch, to regain the 
throne of his father, as his uncle, Charles XL, had that of his sire, m 1660. This 
effort produced quite a serious rebellion. A grandson of King James made another 
attempt to recover the throne by the aid of the Scotch, in 1745, and a still more seri- 
ous rebellion was the consequence. The father and son who made these attempts, 
are known in history as the Old and the Young Pretenders. 

t At about this time Colonel Byrd purchased a watch in London for Colonel 
Custis, and in a letter that accompanied it to Virginia, he said : " I forebode this to 
be a sort of equipage with which you intend to set out a courting. The misfortune is, 
that you can not with tolerable decency draw forth your watch in presence of your 
mistress without giving her some suspicion thai you measure the time you spend in 
her company." 

/■ 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 29 

Again, on the 2cl of October, 171G, Colonel Byrd wrote 
from London to Colonel Custis, as follows: — 

" It is a great surprise to you as to many others, that 
Mr. Roscow has been made receiver-general* I confess, 
if I had given away the place, it is likely Mr. Roscow is 
not the person in the world I should soonest have given 
it to, but if you put the case that I sold it, you would 
not wonder that I should dispose of it to so fair a bidder 
as he was ; and, indeed, I fancy there are not many 
would have given <£500 for it. Besides, it is not an easy 
matter to transfer an office depending upon the treasury ; 
and if I should have taken so much time as to send 
over to Virginia to treat with any person there, I might 
have slipt my opportunity and lost my market. This 
being the case, you will cease to wonder at the matter. 
The kind visit which my wife has made me will be the 
occasion of my staying here another winter, that so she 
may see this town in all its glory j and I am the more 
content to tarry, because the lieutenant-governor has 
sent over a spitefid. complaint against me and Colonel 
Ludwell, which it concerns me to answer. I assure 
you it was not my apprehension of being removed by 
any complaint that might be formed against me that 
made me resign ; but such an office as that of receiver- 
general of the king's revenue makes a man liable to be 
ill-treated by a governor, under the notion of advancing 
his majesty's interest, by which pious pretence he may 

* Receiver-general of the colony of Virginia, held by Colonel Byrd at that time. 
This letter lifts the veil from the secret workings of the old colonial government, 
when placemen disposed of offices to the highest bidders ; for then, as now, there 
were large opportunities for public plunder. The people then had little to say con- 
cerning the administration of public aflfairs, especially by those anpointed by the 
crown. 



30 jjEMom OF 

heap insupportable trouble upon that officer, if he should 
have the spirit to oppose his will and pleasure — he 
must either be a slave to his humor, must fawn upon 
him, and jump over a stick whenever he is bid, or else 
he must have so much trouble loaded upon hun as to 
make his place uneasy. In short, such a man must be 
either the governor's dog or his ass ; neither of which 
stations suit in the least with my constitution. For this 
reason I resolved to make the most of it by surrender- 
ing to any one that would come up to my price, well 
knowing that my interest in the treasury was suffi- 
cient to do it, and now I am at full liberty to oppose 
every design that may seem to be arbitrary or unjust. 
The current news which you had of my being governor 
of the Leeward Islands, expresses very naturally the 
genius of our country for invention. I protest to you it 
never once entered into my head to sue for that gov- 
ernment. 

" God in heaven bless you and your two little cherubs, 
to whom I wish all happiness, being your most affection- 
ate brother, 

«W. Byed." 

At this time Colonel Byrd wrote as follows to an un- 
known female friend : — 

" I have been made happy with several of Irene's let- 
ters, and at this time stand in need of most diversion to 
support me under the melancholy I suffer for my dear 
Fidelia's absence. I fear you are too busy in copying 
after the wise women that Solomon describes, to spend 
much of your tune upon hoiv do ye's. But remember 
that the consequence of care is early wrinkles, and what- 
ever you may get by it, you will be sure to lose in 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 31 

peace and constitution. They tell me you have been 
immoderately afflicted for the loss of your ' dear Poppet,' 
but, by the terms on which it was born, you were to part 
with it when its Maker pleased. You ought to have re- 
flected that Providence acts by unerring wisdom, and 
therefore would never had recalled its gifts but because 
it w^as better so than the contrary would be. God Al- 
mighty is ever contriving for our happiness, and does 
many things for our good which appear to our short 
sight to be terrible misfortunes. But by the time the 
last act of the play comes on, we grow convinced of our 
mistake, and look back with pleasure to those scenes 
wdiicli at first appeared unfortunate. This is the case in 
most accidents that are called disasters, misery, and many 
other terms, which our ignorance gives them. We should 
imitate the philosopher that we read of, who, when he 
heard of his son's death, calmly observed, that he was 
saved from the evil to come ; and of the misconduct of his 
wife, told his friend without any disorder, that he knew 
he had married a woman. This equality of temper 
would save the world abundance of sighs and com- 
plaints, especially that part of it that acknowleges 
itself in the care of a wise and merciful God. 

" Pardon me, dear Irene, for preaching, which is ill-bred, 
because it supposes that the party stands in need of it. 
However, I can excuse the rudeness by pleading the in- 
finite inclination I have for your happiness. I would 
have you without fault, which will suppose you without 
any misfortune." 

Toward the close of the year 1716, Colonel Byrd 
wrote to Colonel Custis, as follows : — 

*^ My daughter, Evelyn, has arrived safe, thank God, and 



32 MEMOIR OF 

1 hope I shall manage her in such a manner, that she 
may be no discredit to her country. I am endeavoring 
to get something from the treasury for your children 
and mine, but as the success of it is somewhat doubtful, 
I will mention no more about it till it shall be deter- 
mined. I do long to see you, but can hardly persuade 
myself to return till I can get it decided, w^hether a 
governor may hang any man he takes to be his adver- 
sary or not. For if it be in his power to appoint me 
my judges, I am sure I won't come within his reach lest 
I fall a sacrifice to his resentment. However, I am 
laboring with all my might to hinder so great a power 
from being lodged in any bashaw, lest they be too much 
inclined to make use of it. We have got both the to- 
bacco law and that about the Indian trade repealed, 
which I hope may not be unacceptable to the country. 
I wish you, and your dear, pretty children, all health and 
happiness, being with all my love, dear brother, your 
most obedient, humble servant. W. Byrd." 

Shortly after this. Colonel Byrd conveyed to Colonel 
Custis very melancholy intelligence, as follows : — 

"London, loth December, 1716. 

" When I ^vrote last I little expected that I should be 
forced to tell you the very melancholy news of my dear 
Lucy's death, by the very same, cruel distemper that 
destroyed her sister. She was taken with an insupport- 
able pain in her head. The doctor soon discovered her 
ailment to be the small-pox, and we thought it best to 
tell her the danger."^' She received the news without 

* Two years later than this (1718), Lady Mary Wortley Montagu returned from 
Constantino])le, and introduced the practice of inoculation for the small-pox, which 
she had learned while in that eastern city. Vaccination was introduced by Jenner, 
about the year 1776. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. do 

the least fright, and was persuaded she would live until 
the day she died, which happened in 12 hours from the 
time she was taken. Gracious God what pains did she 
take to make a voyage hither to seek a grave. No 
stranger ever met with more respect in a strange coun- 
try than she had done here, from many persons of dis- 
tinction, who all pronounced her an honor to Virginia. 
Alas ! how proud was I of her, and how severely am I 
punished for it. But I can dwell no longer on so afflict- 
ing a subject, much less can I think of anything else, 
therefore, I can only recommend myself to your pity, 
and am as much as any one can be, dear brother, your 
most affectionate and humble servant, W. Byrd." 

Returning from this long digression, we will resume 
the memoir of the author of the Recollections. 

George Washington Parke Custis was born at Mount 
Airy, Maryland, on the thirtieth of April, 1781. That 
was the seat of his maternal grandfather, Benedict Cal- 
vert, a descendant of Cecil Calvert, Lord Baltimore.* 
The walls of this venerable mansion are graced with 
fine portraits of several of the Lords Baltimore, by 
Vandyke ; and one of Eleanor Calvert, the mother of 
Mr. Custis. It represents a young lady of a romantic 
and slight figure in a riding costume, with a boy's hat 
and open jacket. She seems scarcely fifteen, with a 
bright and hopeful countenance. Such was her temper- 
ament, we are told, through all the toils of life. The com- 
mencement of her career was brilliant enough. Married 
at sixteen to John Parke Custis, a youth of nineteen, 

* Cecil Calvert was the second Lord Baltimore, and son of the first of that title, 
who obtained from Charles the First a charter for a domain in America, which, in 
honor of his Queen, Henriette Marie (Mary), he called Maryland. 

3 ^ 



O-i MEMOm OF 

tlie ward and favorite of Washington, the only son of 
Mrs. Washington, of large fortune, and a most amiable 
and generous disposition, they passed several years at 
Abingdon, a country-seat on the Potomac, near Wash- 
ington city, in the enjoyment of such felicity as rarely 
falls to the lot of mortals. 

After the death of Mrs. Washington's daughter, al- 
ready mentioned, the hopes of the mother centred in 
this son, who was then between sixteen and seventeen 
years of age. She was extremely indulgent to him, 
and she often pleaded in his behalf, when Washington 
found it necessary to exercise a wholesome restraint 
upon him. He was placed under the care of an episco- 
pal clergjnnan, at Annapolis, in Maryland, to be educated, 
but the wayward boy was frequently away from his 
studies, engaged in fox-hunting and other amusements 
at Mount Vernon. He conceived a strong desire to 
travel, but Washington opposed a scheme that would 
interrupt his studies. It was abandoned, but he soon 
became diverted from his books by a passion stronger 
than a desire to travel. He became deeply enamored 
of Eleanor, the second daughter of Benedict Calvert, of 
Mount Airy, Maryland, and much to the concern of 
Washington, when he discovered it, they formed a matri- 
monial engagement. His only objection was their ex- 
treme youth; and on the third of April, 1773, he ad- 
dressed the following letter to Mr. Calvert : — 

y' _ "Mount Vebnon, Afril 3rd, 1773. 

" Dear Sir : I am now set down to write to you on a 
subject of importance, and of no small embarrassment 
to me. My son-in-law and ward, Mr. Custis, has, as I 
have been informed, paid his addresses to your second 



GEORGE WASHINGTON TAEKE CUSTIS. 35 

danghter, and, having made some progress in lier affec- 
tions, has sohcited her in marriage. How far a union of 
this sort may be agreeable to you, you best can tell ; but 
I should think myself wanting in candor, were I not to 
confess, that Miss Nelly's amiable qualities are acknowl- 
edged on all hands, and that an alliance with your family 
will be pleasing to his. 

" This acknowledment being made, you must permit 
me to add, sir, that at this, or in any short time, his 
youth, inexperience, and unripened education, are, and 
will be, insuperable obstacles, in my opinion, to the com- 
pletion of the marriage. As his guardian, I consider it 
my indispensable duty to endeavor to carry him through 
a regular course of education (many branches of which, 
I am sorry to add, he is totally deficient in), and to 
guard his youth to a more advanced age, before an 
event, on which his own peace and the happiness of an- 
other are to depend, takes place. Not that I have any 
doubt of the warmth of his affections, nor, I hope I may 
add, any fears of a change in them ; but at present I do 
not conceive that he is capable of bestowing that atten- 
tion to the important consequences of the married state, 
which is necessary to be given by those who are about 
to enter into it, and of course I am unwilling he should 
do it till he is. If the affection which they have avowed 
for each other is fixed upon a solid basis, it will receive 
no diminu^tion in the course of two or three years, in 
which time he may prosecute his studies, and thereby 
render himself more deserving of the lady, and useful 
to society. If, unfortunately, as they are both young, 
there should be an abatement of affection on either side, 
or both, it had better precede than follow marriage. 



36 MEMOIR OF 

" Delivering my sentiments thus freely will not, I hope, 
lead you into a belief that I am desirous of breaking off 
the match. To postpone it is all I have in view ; for I 
shall recommend to the young gentleman, with the 
warmth that becomes a man of honor (notwithstanding 
he did not vouchsafe to consult either his mother or me 
on the occasion), to consider himself as much engaged 
to your daughter as if the indissoluble knot were tied ; 
and, as the surest means of effecting this, to apply him- 
self closely to his studies (and in this advice, I flatter 
myself, you will join me), by which he will, in a great 
measure, avoid those little flirtations with other young 
ladies, that may, by dividing the attention, contribij^te 
not a little to divide the affection. 

" It may be expected of me, perhaps, to say something 
of property ; but, to descend to particulars, at this time, 
must seem rather premature. In general, therefore, I 
shall inform you, that Mr. Custis's estate consists of 
about fifteen thousand acres of land, a good part of it 
adjoining the city of Williamsburg, and none of it forty 
miles from that j^lace; several lots in the said city; 
between two and three hundred negroes; and about 
eight or ten thousand pounds upon bond, and in the 
hands of his merchants. This estate he now holds, inde- 
pendent of his mother's dower, which will be an addition 
to it at her death ; and, upon the whole, it is such an 
estate as you will readily acknowledge, ought to entitle 
him to a handsome portion with a wife. But as I should 
never require a child of my own to make a sacrifice of 
himself to interest, so neither do I think it incumbent 
on me to recommend it as a guardian. 

At all times when you, Mrs. Calvert, or the young 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 37 

ladies can make it convenient to favor us with a visit, 
we should be happy in seeing you at this place. Mrs. 
Washington and Miss Custis join me in respectful com- 
pliments, and, 

" I am, dear sir, your most obedient servant." 

It was agreed that the youth should pass two years 
at college, before the marriage could take place. He 
was sent to King's (now Columbia) college, in New York 
city, but he remained there only a few months. Love 
and learning did not move in harmony, and on the third 
of February, 1774, young Custis was married to JNIiss 
Calvert, when the bridegroom was a little more than 
nineteen years of age. 

Four children were the fruits of this union, all born at 
Abingdon, except George Washington Parke. Elizabeth 
Parke was born on the twenty-first of August, 1776, and 
married Mr. Law, nephew of Lord Ellenborough. She 
was a lady of great beauty and talent. Martha Parke 
was born on the thirty-first of December, 1777, and was 
early married to Thomas Peter. She was a woman of 
fine and dignified appearance. Her husband was a man 
of wealth, and great excellence of character ; and she 
passed her long life in the conscientous performance of 
all her domestic duties. Eleanor Parke, born on the 
twenty-first of March, 1779, married Lawrence Lewis, 
the favorite nephew of General Washington. George 
Washington Parke, the youngest child, first saw the 
light, as we have observed, at Mount Airy, in April, 
178L 

Very soon the bright sky that illumined the household 
of John Parke Custis and his young wife became dark- 



38 MEMOIR OF 

ened. He was aid-cle-camp to General Washington at 
the siege of Yorktown. A violent attack of camp-fever 
obliged him to leave his post for Eltham, a place not far 
distant. General Washington hastened thither as soon 
as possible, but was met at the door by Dr. Craik, who 
informed him that all was over. The chief bowed his 
head, and in tears gave vent to his deep sorrow ; then 
turning to the weeping mother, he said : " I adopt the 
two younger children as my own."-^ Thus, at six months 
of age, did my father, the subject of this Memoir, 
become the child of Mount Vernon, the idol of his 
grandmother, and an object on which was lavished the 
caresses and attention of the many distinguished guests 
who thronged that hospitable mansion. His beautiful sis- 
ter Nelly often observed : " Grandmamma always spoiled 
Washington." He was " the pride of her heart," while 
the public duties of the veteran prevented the exercise 
of his influence in forming the character of the boy, 
too softly nurtured under his roof, and gifted with 
talents which, under a sterner discipline, might have 
been made more available for his own and his country's 
good. 

It was not until he entered the college at Princeton, 
that the attention of the "father" was particularly 
drawn to those faults, which should have been cor- 
rected at an earher period. The deep solicitude which 
tliese faults occasioned may be estimated, in a meas- 
ure, by the correspondence between Washington and 
the son of his adoption, appended to this Memoir. 

At the time of the birth of Eleanor (the eldest of the 
two children adopted by Washington), her mother was 

* George Washington Paike Custis, and Eleanor Parke Custis. 



GEORGE WASH^GTON PARKE CUSTIS. 39 

very ill, and Mrs. Washington took the child to Mount 
Vernon, to be nursed by the wife of the steward, a 
healthy English woman named Anderson, who had lost 
her infant. She called Mrs. Anderson "mammy," and 
remembered running with her to meet the General and 
Lady Washington, on their return from camp in a car- 
riage drawn by six horses. She was then three years 
old, having remained all that time under the care of 
Mrs. Lund Washington, the wife of the general's agent. 
Her young brother, George, was nursed by the same 
woman. 

A daughter of Mrs. Lewis, (formerly Eleanor Parke 
Custis) informed the writer that their first tutor was 
Gideon Snow. "I saw him when I was in Boston," 
she said, "in 1824. He called with a grown daughter 
to see my mother, and talked of 'little George,' and 
seemed sincerely attached to both his pupils, and to be 
himself respected and beloved in Boston."* Their sec- 

* The following letter, written to Mr. Custis by his old tutor, after the lapse of 
more than fifty years, possesses much interest : — 

"Boston, 7th. March, 1850. 

" My Dear Friend : I am much gratified by receiving your esteemed letter of 
3d instant yesterday. You ask a copy of your letter of ancient date. With pleas- 
ure I comply with your request. The original has been preserved with care and 
interest, for the love I bore the writer ; but if the writer has a wish to possess it, I 
shall be gratified to send it to him. I received it enclosed by our mutual friend, Mr. 
Lear, in a letter, which I can not find, but recollect he informed me it was written 
at your own request, on a very warm afternoon. When finished you expressed your 
wish to have it forwarded. Mr. Lear requested me to retain it with care, as it was 
the first letter you had expressed a wish to write, and the time would come when 
you would receive pleasure in seeing it should your life be spared. 

" I showed you the letter when I had the pleasure of meeting you in Boston, after 
an absence of more than fifty years. I do not recollect naming the date at any time. 
I might have done so — the date is 1787, instead of 1785 as named by you. 

" In looking over a few of Mr. Lear's letters, which I have retained, I see, under 
date July 9th, 1787, 'I have a message : Washington sends his love to you, and 
Bays you are not a man of your word, for you promised to come down here on Sun- 



40 MEMOIR OF 

ond tutor was Mr. Lear, afterward private secretary to 
General Washington, who lived at the president's house 
in Philadelphia. 

Nelly Custis was considered one of the most beautiful 
women of the day, to which her portrait, at Arlington 
house, by Gilbert Stuart, bears testimony. All who knew 
her can recall the pleasure which they derived from 
her extensive information, brilliant wit, and boundless 
generosity. The most tender parent and devoted friend, 
she lived in the enjoyment of her affections.* She was 
often urged to write her memoirs, which might even 
have surpassed, in interest to her countrymen, those of 
Madame de Se^dgne and others of equal note, as her 
pen gave free utterance to her lively imagination and 
clear memory. Would that we could recall the many 
tales of the past we have heard from her lips, but alas ! 
we should fail to give them accurately. One narrative 

day and did not.' — My inclination was good, but a call to another act prevented. 
When we met again your interest did not appear diminished. On the 9th January, 
1788, 'handsome soft black cloth was purchased for your coat and overalls.' Dec. 
18, 1788, 1 was asked to inquire of Dr. Craik where he procured the Latin grammar 
for his sons, ' as I am about initiating my young pupil in that language.' These 
extracts may amuse. From your deai', departed mother I always received maternal 
kindness. The recollection of her will never pass from me. I passed one Sunday at 
Hope Park very happily. Your dear mother and your sisters were present. Mrs. 
Snow requests her respectful remembrance. I thought of you at Eichmond with 
the president. I imagined you happy in the enjoyments of the interesting scene. 
I thank you for your kind wishes, and sincerely reciprocate them. 

" Gideon Snow." 

The fallowing is the copy of the letter alluded to by Mr. Snow : — 

"Mount Vernon, May \2th, 1787. 

"Dear Snow: I should be very happy to see you here if you can find time to 
come down. When will you send my waggon to me ? For my old one is almost 
worn out, and I shall have none to get in my harvest with. 
I am, dear Snow, your friend, &c.. 

Very H'ble Serv't, G. W. P. Custis." 

* She died in Clarke county, Virginia, in 1852, at the age of seventy-four years. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 41 

is retained, as it made a strong impression at the time. 
She said the most perfect harmony always existed " be- 
tween her grandmamma and the general;" that in all 
his intercourse with her he was most considerate and 
tender. She had often seen her when she had some- 
thing to communicate, or a request to make, at a mo- 
ment when his mind was entirely abstracted from the 
present, seize him by the button to command his atten- 
tion, when he would look down upon her with a most 
benignant smile, and become at once attentive to her 
and her wishes, which were never slighted. She also 
said, the grave dignity which he usually wore did not 
prevent his keen enjoyment of a joke, and that no 
one laughed more heartily than he did, when she, her- 
self, a gay, laughing girl, gave one of her saucy descrip- 
tions of any scene in which she had taken part, or 
any one of the merry pranks she then often played; 
and that he would retire from the room in which her 
young companions were amusing themselves, because 
his presence created a reserve which they could not 
overcome. But he always regretted it exceedingly, as 
he liked nothing better than to look on at their sports 
and see them happy. His letter to her on the occasion 
of her first ball, may be so appropriately introduced 
here, that we give it entire, precisely as it was written 
in the original, now before us. Miss Custis was then 
about sixteen years of age. 

"Phila., January 16, 1795. 
" Your letter, the receipt of which I am now acknowl- 
edging, is written correctly and in fair characters, which 
is an evidence that you command, when you please, a 
fair hand. Possessed of these advantages, it will be 



42 MEMOIR OF 

your own fault if jou clo not avail yourself of them, 
and attention being paid to the choice of your subjects, 
you can have nothing to fear from the malignancy of 
criticism, as your ideas are lively, and your descriptions 
agreeable. Let me touch a little now on your George- 
town ball, and happy, thrice happy, for the fair who 
were assembled on the occasion, that there was a man 
to spare ; for had there been 79 ladies and only 78 gen- 
tlemen, there might, in the course of the evening, have 
been some disorder among the caps; notwithstanding 
the apathy which one of the company entertains for the 
'l/outN of the present day, and her determination ' never 
to give herself a moment's uneasiness on account of any 
of them.' A hint here ; men and women feel the same 
inclinations to each other noiv that they always have 
done, and which they will continue to do until there is 
a new order of things, and you, as others have done, 
may find, perhaps, that the passions of your sex are 
easier raised than allayed. Do not, therefore, boast too 
soon or too strongly of your insensibility to, or resist- 
ance of, its powers. In the comjDOsition of the human 
frame there is a good deal of inflammable matter, how- 
ever dormant it may lie for a time, and like an inti- 
mate acquaintance of yours, when the torch is put to it, 
that which is ivithin you may burst into a blaze ; for which 
reason, and especially too, as I have entered upon the 
chapter of advices, I will read you a lecture drawn 
from this text. 

"Love is said to be an involuntary passion, and it is, 
therefore, contended that it can not be resisted. This 
is true in part only, for like all things else, when nour- 
ished and supplied plentifully with aliment, it is rapid in 



GEORGE WASHmGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 43 

its progress; but let these be withdrawn and it may 
be stifled in its birth or much stinted in its growth. 
For example, a woman (the same may be said of the 
other sex) all beautiful and accomplished, will, while her 
hand and heart are undisposed of, turn the heads and 
set the circle in which she moves on fire. Let her 
marry, and what is the consequence. The madness 
ceases and all is quiet again. Why ? not because there 
is any diminution in the charms of the lady, but because 
there is an end of hope. Hence it follows, that love 
may and therefore ought to be under the guidance of 
reason, for although we can not avoid first impressions, 
we may assuredly place them under guard; and my 
motives for treating on this subject are to show you, 
while you remain Eleanor Parke Custis, sj^inster, and 
retain the resolution to love with moderation, the pro- 
priety of adhering to the latter resolution, at least until 
you have secured your game, and the way by which it 
may be accomplished. 

" When the fire is beginning to kmdle, and your heart 
growing warm, propound these questions to it. Who is 
this invader ? Have I a competent knowledge of him ? 
Is he a man of good character ; a man of sense ? For, 
be assured, a sensible woman can never be happy with a 
fool. What has been his walk of life ? Is he a gambler, 
a sjDendthrift, or drunkard ? Is his fortune sufficient to 
maintain me in the manner I have been accustomed to 
live, and my sisters do live, and is he one to whom my 
friends can have no reasonable objection ? If these in- 
terrogatories can be satisfactorily answered, there will 
remain but one more to be asked, that, however, is an 
important one. Have I sufficient ground to conclude 



44 MEMOIR OF 

that his affections are engaged by me? Without this 
the heart of sensibihty will struggle against a passion 
that is not reciprocated — delicacy, custom, or call it by 
what epithet you will, having precluded all advances on 
your part. The declaration, wdthout the most indirect in- 
vitation of yours, must proceed from the man, to render 
it permanent and valuable, and nothing short of good 
sense and an easy unaffected conduct can draw the line 
between prudery and coquetry. It would be no great 
departure from truth to say, that it rarely happens 
otherwise than that a thorough-paced coquette dies in 
celibacy, as a punishment for her attempts to mislead 
others, by encouraging looks, words, or actions, given 
for no other purpose than to draw men on to make 
overtures that they may be rejected. 

" This day, according to our information, gives a hus- 
band to your elder sister, and consummates, it is to be 
presumed, her fondest desires. The dawn with us is 
bright, and propitious, I hope, of her future happiness, 
for a full measure of which she and Mr. Law have my 
earnest wishes. Compliments and congratulations on 
this occasion, and best regards are presented to your 
mamma. Dr. Stuart and family; and every blessing, 
among which, a good husband when you want and de- 
serve one, is bestowed on you by yours, affectionately."* 

This beautiful and accomplished lady married Law^- 
rence Lewis, the favorite nephew of Washington, and 

* Washington wrote many other letters to his sprightly ward and foster-child, but 
they have been lost or destroyed. These seem to show how his comprehensive mind 
had moments of thought and action to bestow on all connected with him, and how 
deeply his affections were interested in the family of his wife, who were cared for as 
if they had been his own. They were written at a time when the cares of state, as 
president of the republic, were pressing heavily upon him. 





\. 



%-rA' 



GEORGE WASHINGION PARKE CUSTIS. 45 

son of his only sister, Elizabeth, of whose remarkable 
resemblance to the general, mention is made in the 
memoir of their mother, given in the Recollections. They 
were married on the twenty-second of February (Wash- 
ington's birthday), 1799. A month before, Washington 
wrote to his nephew, as follows : — 
/ "Mount Vernon, 23^? January., 1799. 

" Dear Lawrence : Your letter of the 10th instant I 
received in Alexandria, on Monday, whither I w^ent to 
become the guardian of Nelly, thereby to authorize a 
license for your nuptials on the 22d of next month, 
when, I presimie, if your health is restored, there will be 
no impediment to your union.* 

" The letters herewith sent were received two or three 
days ago ; and until your letter of the above date came 
to hand, I knew not with certainty to what place to 
direct them. They are put under cover to your brother 
of Fredericksburgh, to await your arrival at that place. 

"I enclose the one to your lieutenant, Mr. Lawrence 
Washington, for safety, and because it may be necessary 
that you should have a conference with him respecting 
the plan for recruiting your troops when the order and 
the means for doing so are received. All, however, that 
you, Washington, and Custis, have to do at present, is 
simply to acknowledge the receipt of the letter from the 

* The following letter, authorizing the license, is copied from the original, which 
is addressed "To Captain George Deneale, clerk of Fairfax county court :" — 

"Mount Vernox, 19<A Feb. 1799. 
"Sir: You will please to grant a license for the marriage of Eleanor Parke 
Custis with Lawrence Lewis, and this shall be your authority for so doing. 
"From sir, 
" Witness, " Your very humble servant, 

"Thomas Peter. "G. Washingtos. 

"George W. P. Custis." 



46 MEMOIR OF 

secretary of war, to inform liini whether you do, or do 
not accept the appointment, and in either case to request 
him to thank the president for the honor he has con- 
ferred on you in making it * Perhaps, as this acknowl- 
edgment will not be as prompt as might have been ex- 
pected from you and Custis (for it was supposed that 
both of you were to be found at Mount Vernon), it 
would not be amiss if you were to add, that being on an 
excursion into the upper country is the cause of it. All 
here, as I presume you will learn from a more pleasing 
pen, are well ; I therefore shall only add, that I am, dear 
sir, your sincere friend and affectionate uncle, 

"Geo. Washington. 
"Mr. Law. Lewis." 

A few months after this, "Washington wrote to his 
nephew, as follows, in reply to a letter from the young 
husband concerning a portion of the Mount Vernon es- 
tate. Little did any of the parties then suppose, that in 
less than three months, the hand that penned this letter 
would be paralyzed by death, and that the will written 
by that hand, would so soon call for executors : — 

"Mount Veknon, 2i)th September, 1799. 

" Dekr Sir : From the moment Mrs. Washington and 
myself adopted the two youngest children of the late 

* When, in the summei* of 1798, long-pending difficulties with France seemed to 
be tending toward speedy war, the Congress authorized quite a large standing army, 
and appointed Washington commander-in-chief, with General Alexander Hamilton 
as his first lieutenant. Washington consented to accept the appointment, only on 
condition that General Hamilton should be acting commander-in-chief, unless cir- 
cumstances should make it necessary for the retired president to take the field. 
Many young men, especially of families of revolutionary veterans, aspired to mili- 
tary honors at this time. Among others who received commissions, were those al- 
luded to in this letter, namely, Lawrence Lewis, Lawrence Washington, and George 
Washington Parke Custis. They were never called to the field, as the storm of war 
passed by without bursting upon the land. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 47 

Mr. Custis, it became my intention (if they survived me 
and conducted themselves to my satisfaction) to con- 
sider them in my will when I was about to make a dis- 
tribution of my property. This determination has un- 
dergone no diminution, but is strengthened by the con- 
nection one of them has formed with my family, 

" The expense at which I live, and the unproductive- 
ness of my estate, will not allow me to lessen my income 
while I remain in my present situation. On the con- 
trary, were it not for occasional supplies of money in 
payment for lands sold within the last four or five years, 
to the amount of upwards of fifty thousand dollars, I 
should not be able to support the former without in- 
volving myself in debt and difficulties. 

" But as it has been understood from e:Jpressions occa- 
sionally dropped from Nelly Custis, now your wife, that 
it is the wish of you both to settle in this neighborhood, 
contiguous to her friends, and as it would be inexpedient, 
as well as expensive, for you to make a purchase of land, 
when a measure which is in contemplation would place 
you on more eligible ground, I shall inform jou, that in 
the will which I have made, which I have by me, and have 
no disposition to alter, that the part of my Mount Vernon 
tract, which lies north of the public road leading from the 
Gum spring to Colchester, containing about two thousand 
acres, with the Dogue-river farm, mill, and distiller}^, I 
have left you. Gray's heights is bequeathed to 3^ou and 
her jointly, if you incline to build on it, and few better 
sites for a house than Gray's hill and that range, are to 
be found in this country or elsewhere. 

"You may also have what is properly Dogue-run 
farm, the mill, and distillery, on a just and equitable 



48 MEMOIR OF 

rent ; as also the lands belonging thereto, on a reason- 
able hire, either next year or the year following, it being- 
necessary, in my opinion, that a young man should have 
objects of employment. Idleness is disreputable under 
any circumstances, productive of no good, even when 
unaccompanied by vicious habits, and you might com- 
mence building as soon as you please, during the progress 
of which Mount Vernon might be made your home. 

" You may conceive, that building before you have an 
absolute title to the land is hazardous. To obviate this, 
I shall only remark, that it is not likely any occurrence 
w^ill happen, or any change take place that would alter 
my present intention (if the conduct of yourself and wife 
is such as to merit a continuance of it) ; but be this as it 
may, that you inay proceed on sure ground with respect 
to the buildings, I will agree, and this letter shall be an 
evidence of it, that if hereafter I should find cause to 
make any other disposition of the property liere men- 
tioned, I will pay the actual cost of such buildings to 
you or yours. 

" Although I have not the most distant idea that any 
event will happen that could effect a change in my 
present determination, nor any suspicions that you or 
Nelly could conduct yourselves in such a manner as to 
incur my serious displeasure, yet, at the same time, that 
I am inclined to do justice to others, it behooves me to 
take care of myself, by keeping the staff in my own 
hands. 

" That you may have a more perfect idea of the landed 
property I have bequeathed to you and Nelly in my will, 
I transmit a plan of it, every part of which is correctly 
laid down and accurately measured, showing the number 



GEORGE WASIIIISGTON PARKE CUSTIS. " 49 

of fields, lots, meadows, &c., with the contents, and rela- 
tive situation of each, all of which, except the mill and 
swamp, which has never been considered as a part of 
Dogue-run farm, and is retained merely for the purpose 
of putting it into a better state of improvement, you may 
have on the terms before-mentioned. With every kind 
msh for you and Nelly, in which your aunt, who is still 
much indisposed, unites, 

" I remain your affectionate uncle, 

"Geo. Washington. 

**Mr. Lawrence Lewis." 

"Mount Vernon, 2%th September, 1799. 

" My DEAR Sir : The enclosed letter was written as^ree- 
ably to date, and sent to the postoffice in Alexandria, 
but owing to an accident it missed the western mail, and 
was returned to me, since which, Mr. Anderson,* in part- 
nership with his son, John, has discovered an inclination 
to rent my distillery and mill. I am disposed to let them 
become the tenants, provided they will give a reasonable 
rent, and matters in other respects can be adjusted. The 
reasons are, that although Mr. Anderson is, in my opinion, 
an honest, sober, and industrious man, understands the 
management of the plough and the harrow, and how to 
make meadows, yet he is not a man of arrangement; he 
wants system and foresight in conducting the business to 
advantage, is no economist in providing things, and takes 
little care of them when provided — when, to these de- 
fects in his character, are added, his acting too much 
from the impulse of the moment (which occasions too . 
much doing and undoing), and his high wages and emolu- 
ments, I have no hesitation in declaring, that it is my 

* Washington's steward. 
4 



50 MEMOIR OF 

wish to place my estate in this county on a new estab- 
lishment, thereby bringing it into so nar)''0w a compass 
as not only to supersede the necessity of a manager, but 
to make the management of what I retain in my own 
hands a healthy and agreeable amusement to look after 
myself, if I should not be again called in the public ser- 
vice of the country. As the old man is extremely 
obliging and zealous in my service, I am unwilling, by 
any act of miiie to hurt his feelings, or by discarding 
him to lessen his respectability in the eyes of the public, 
but if it should appear to be his own act, both our ends 
would be answered. I should be lessened so much of my 
general concerns, and if you take the Dogue-run farm 
(by odds the best and most productive I possess), I can, 
if I remain quiet at home, with great ease attend to the 
other three and the mansion-house, and thereby ease my- 
self of the expense of a manager. You will perceive by 
my letter of the 20th, herewith enclosed, that the lands 
tlierein mentioned are given for the express purpose of 
accommodating you in a building site, in which case I 
did not. nor do I now see how you could do without the 
farm, which is part of the premises, or the hands thereon; 
and were it not for the reasons which apply to Mr. 
Anderson, the mill and distillery ought to accompany it 
as part of the same concern. I shall not go more into 
details at this time, as I hear from a letter to Nelly that 
you may be expected shortly. Mr. Anderson, after I 
had written my letter of the 20th, hinted his desire of 
renting from me, and was informed I had made i . e offer 
to you, and until I received your answer I could say 
nothing definitely to him on the subject, and so the 
matter remains. Mrs. Washington has not recovered 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. SI 

lier health, on the contrary, is at this time weak and low. 

Mr. and Mrs. Peter (now here) and their children are 

well. "We all unite in best wishes for you, Nelly, and 

Mr. Carter's family. Your affectionate uncle, 

"George Washington. 
"Mr. Lawrence Lewis." 

We have again been led into a digression on a relative 
subject. Let us now j)ursue the Memoir to its termina- 
tion, without further interruption. 

Before he had reached his eighteenth year, young 

Custis was appointed a cornet of horse in the army, as 

appears by the following letter from the secretary of 

war: — 

"War Department, January 10th, 1799, 

" Sir : I have the honor to inform you, that the presi- 
dent, by and with the advice and consent of the senate, 
has appointed you a cornet in the army of the United 
States. 

"You are requested to inform me as soon as conven- 
ient, whether you accept or not the appointment, that I 
may notify the same to the president. 

" To obviate misconception, it is proper to mention, 
that a want of materials having prevented a complete 
nomination and appointment of the whole number of 
officers for the troops to be raised, the president has 
thought it advisable to reserve the subject of their rela- 
tive rank for further arrangement. 

"I am, sir, with respect, your obedient servant, 

James M'Henry. 
« Mr. George W. P. Custis." 

Mr. Custis was soon afterward promoted to the posi- 
tion of aid-de-camp to General Charles Cotesworth Pinck 



52 MEMOIR OF 

ne}^, of South Carolina, with the rank of colonel. But 
he was never called into active service j and a few 
months afterward he was sorely bereaved by the death 
of his illustrious foster-father. That event occurred on 
the fourteenth of December, 1799, and the adopted son 
became a prospective executor of that great man's will.* 
Mount Vernon continued to be his home until after the 
death of his grandmother, when he commenced the erec- 
tion of a beautiful mansion at Arlington, an estate of a 
thousand acres, left him by his father, and lying upon 
the west side of the Potomac, opposite Washington city. 
There he resided imtil his death. It is a most lovely 
spot, overlooking the Potomac ; and from the noble por- 
tico, that adorns its front, so conspicuous from every 
point of the federal city and its vicinity, he saw that city 
grow into its present grand proportions, from a humble 
and uninteresting village. 

At the age of twenty-three, Mr. Custis married Mary 
Lee Fitzhugh, a lady whose many virtues endeared 
her to all who came within the circles of her in- 
fluence, and who will ever live in the memory of her 
friends. While the pen of filial affection may not 
be trusted in delineating a character so beloved, it 

* Tn the last clause of his will, Washington said : " I constitute and appoint my 
dearly beloved wife, Martha Washington, my nephews, William Augustine Washing- 
ton, Bushrod Washington, George Step toe Washington, Samuel Washington, and 
Lawrence Lewis, and my ward, George Washington Parke Custis (when he shall 
have arrived at the age of twenty-one years), executrix and executors of this my 
last Will and Testament." The will was signed and sealed on the ninth of July, 
1799. In it was the following clause : "I give and bequeath to George Washing- 
ton Parke Custis, the grandson of my wife, and my ward, and to his heirs, the tract 
I hold on Four-mile run, in the vicinity of Alexandria, containing one thousand and 
two hundred acres, more or less, and my entire square, No. 21, in the city of Wash- 
mgton." 



GEORGE "WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 53 

may be pardoned for transcribing the following testi- 
mony of a friend : — 

" To the Editors of the National Intelligencer : 

" Savannah, May 16, 1853. 

" GentlejMen : Allow me from this distant city to place 
an humble wreath, bedewed with many tears, on the 
grave of the best of friends. Since no one living could 
do justice to the character of that eminent lady, whose 
decease has spread the gloom of night through all the 
halls of Arlington, tremblingly I shrink from the at- 
tempt to recall and trace out, even faintly, that most rare 
combination of virtues and graces which, as no modesty 
or humility could conceal, no language can adequately 
portray. 

" Happy in her descent from the union of Fitzhugh, 
of Chatham (the friend of Washington), a gentleman 
imsurpassed for dignity and courtesy of manners by 
any who enjoyed the society of Mount Vernon, with 
one of the most beautiful, accomplished, and religious 
ladies that ever bore the name of Randolph, all the in- 
structions and associations, the habits and studies of her 
childhood and youth, were suited to nurture those just 
principles and pure and generous sentiments which ever 
pervaded and adorned her entire character. Early al- 
lied by marriage to a gentleman bred up in Mount Yer- 
non while the spot was the home of the father of his 
country — a gentleman whose genius, taste, eloquence, 
and courtesy, have attracted multitudes from this and far 
distant lands to that mansion, where, alas, he now sits in 
sorrow and darkness — she dedicated herself to those 
gentle offices, quiet duties, and daily graceful ministries 
of love, so becoming to her station and her sex. 



54 MEJIOIR OF 

" Those who best knew this lamented lady will testify 
to a charming simplicity and sincerity, expressed in her 
aspect, manners, and conversation, blended with a ma- 
jesty of goodness far surpassing the fairest creations of 
the painter's or the poet's art. Her clear and compre- 
hensive reason, ever submissive as a child to the teach- 
ings of its Author; her integrity never wavering and 
without guile ; the purity of all her motives and affec- 
tions; the energy of purpose with which she apphed 
herself to duty, and that constant cheerfulness which 
made to her all duty pleasure, rendered her judgment 
on all moral questions w^ell-nigh infallible, and gave se- 
renity, consistency, and incomparable beauty to her life. 
For a period of thirty years the writer recollects no in- 
stance in which this distinguished Christian lady erred 
in judgment on any question of taste, propriety, or duty. 
Her example was a light, never declining, and never 
eclipsed, which the wise could not hesitate to follow, nor 
less serious observers to feel and admire. She was fa- 
miliarly acquainted with the best English literature, and 
read much, though very careful to select works of un- 
blemished and established reputation, and confining her- 
self mainly, toward the close of her life, to books on 
practical religion and to Christian biography. But infi- 
nitely beyond all the writings of men she valued the 
w^ord of God. This was her daily companion, study, and 
guide, and in the law of God was her meditation and 
delight all the day. She had a remarkably quick per- 
ception of beauty and sublimity in composition, art, or 
nature ; and whenever she discerned these qualities, joy 
lighted up her countenance with a radiance pure and 
gentle as that shed through the wmdows of a cathedral 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 55 

from holy fire ujooii its altar. No member of the Pro- 
testant E^Discopal chmxh, was more ardently attached to 
its solemn worship and communion, Avhile she embraced 
in her aifectionate regards the whole company of Christ's 
discij^les, never doubting the unity of his kingdom, or that 
to his church there is but one Head, and though many 
members, but one Body. 

" Precious to her were all the services of the sanctu- 
ary. She loved its very gates; she entered them with joy 
and thanksgiving ; her soul was filled with reverence of 
the heavenly King in those sacred courts where his 
honor dwelleth. What disciple present with her in the 
house of God, what casual observer, what stranger, what 
child has not been instructed, felt his soul warmed by 
the manner, the fervor of her heart-penetrating devo- 
tion ? 

" But how can I speak of her as she shone at home, 
and in the midst of her family and friends ? She was a 
guardian-angel to the objects of her love, and when she 
left them it was like the going down of the sun for ever. 
Joy was turned into heaviness, and songs into the voice 
of them that weep. The fresh flowers of spring seemed 
to loose their fragrance, to fade and become withered 
when ceased that beautiful life, more fragrant even in 
memory than the roses or precious odors, gums and 
spices of Cashmere, Ceylon, or ' Araby the blest.' Though 
her life was not short, as was said by Atterbury of Lady 
Cutts, ^ her death was sudden ; she was called in haste 
and without any warning ; one day she drooped and the 
next she died ; nor was there the difference of many 
hours between her being very easy in this world and 
very happy in another.' Her duties all discharged, the 



56 MEMOIR OF 

cause of benevolence and religion, aided by habitual and 
generous gifts and earnest prayers, her work all well 
done, her lamps well trimmed and brightly burning, she 
obeyed the summons. Truly was it said in that great 
hour, a ' purer spirit never left this world for the man- 
sions of heaven.' 

"A volume would be insufficient to describe those in- 
numerable acts of coiurtesy, kindness, and beneficence 
which adorned and enobled the life of Mrs. Custis ; a life 
retired from general observation, but widely extended 
in the power of its influence, and, as we doubt not, in 
the importance of its results. We have read of Lady 
Russell, the magnanimous daughter of the good Earl of 
Southampton; of Mrs. Ramsay, the devout and judicious 
companion of the historian of South Carolina ; we have 
admired the fortitude and genius of Madame Roland; 
the mystical but sublime piety of Madame Guion, the 
charming grace and tenderness of Klopstock's wife, and 
many other touching portraits of female excellence; 
but in all the elements of a character to be loved, 
trusted, and imitated, a character to grow brighter by 
study and time, to be handed down with increasing hon- 
ors to future ages, and stand in serene beauty among 
the ruins of the world, we find none in the annals of 
female biography to surpass that of her on whose dust 
we lay this poor offering of a sad but grateful heart."* 

Mr. and Mrs. Custis had four children, all daughters, 
only one of whom (Mary Custis, wife of Colonel Robert 
K Lee of the United States army) survived the period 
of infancy. Upon her the fondest affections of both 
parents were centred. From her father she never 

* Mrs. Custis died at Arlington on the 23d of April, 1853. 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARICE CUSTIS. 57 

received an unkind word. He was endowed with an 
even temper and remarkably buoyant spirit ; and tow- 
ard his family, his servants, his friends, and the world, 
there was a constant outflow of kindly feeling from his 
warm and generous heart. 

Identifying himself with the past, through the power 
'of strong association, he scarcely seemed to live in the 
present, though deeply interested in the current events 
of the day. He exercised an unbounded hospitability, 
and loved to pour forth to his delighted auditors the 
treasures of his richly -stored mind and wonderful mem- 
ory. He had a happy faculty for expressing his thoughts 
by both pen and voice ; and this was exercised at a very 
early period of his life, as is indicated in the foUowmg 
letter from the eminent General Henry Lee, of the revo- 
lution, written to him early in the year 1800, when 
young Custis was not quite nineteen years of age : — 

"Philad'a, 16 i^e%. 

" Dear Sir : Your polite note, accompanying your feel- 
ing address to the youth of America, was duly received. 
The perusal gave me much pleasure. 

" The sentiments which it breathes do honor to your 
heart ; and I ardently pray a similar spirit may pervade 
the rising generation throughout these states. 

" I wished to have sent the paper to the press here ; 
but, referring to your letter, I find no permission of that 
sort, and therefore have confined my communicaticm of 
it to my own circle. With best wishes for your welfare, 
I am your friend and obt. servant, 

"Henry Lee." 

The address alluded to was on the subject of the death 



58 MEMOIR OF 

of Washington, and its eulogist had recently pronounced 
an admirable oration on the same subject, before the fed- 
eral Congress, by invitation of that body. 

Possessed of a quick and lively imagination, Mr. Custis 
sometimes employed a leisure hour in penning poetic 
effusions ; and on several occasions, at the earnest solici- 
tations of friends, he composed dramas, to be acted for a 
specific purpose. The following letter to his wife, in re- 
lation to one of these efforts, exhibits in a remarkable 
manner the facility with which he could put his thoughts 
into shape ; and also the kindness of his nature. His 
wife was then on a visit to the family of the now vener- 
able Bishop Meade : — 

"Arlington, 12 SepVr, 1833. 

"My Dearest Wife: Your letter has been received, 
gi\4ng an account of your pleasurable trip through Fau- 
quier, and safe arrival among your friends in Frederick. 
Your account of the appearance of the venerable Chief 
Justice Marshall is particularly interesting. If you had 
written a little more in detail, I would have composed a 
fragment upon it, entitled ^A Scene in Fauquier^ Dear, 
glorious old man! I wish he could lay his patriarchal 
hands upon our boy, and bless him. You know Lafay- 
ette's triumph in this country is attributed to his having 
received a blessing from the ' mother,' on his departure, 
in 1784. 

" I shall hear from my dear Mary and her boy to-day, 
and, if there is anything to communicate, I will write 
again in a day or two. If you do not hear from me m 
qidcJc time, you may conclude all are well. 

" Remember me kindly and affectionately to the good 
bishop, and the excellent people around you. Health 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 5S 

attend you, dearest wife ! Happiness I know you have 
wherever you are. 

" Write often, and believe me always yours, &c., 

«G. W. P. CusTis. 

"P. S. — I have made a great mental effort lately, but 
1 am sure you and the bishop will think my energies 
might have been better emj)loyed. I had promised the 
poor rogues of actors a play for the 12th Sejot., the anni- 
versary of the battle of North Point ; but, finding myself 
not in the vein, I wrote to them to defer it. On Monday, 
9th, the manager came on from Baltimore, and entreated 
me to prepare something for the 12th, as it would put 
six or seven hundred dollars in his pocket. On Monday 
not a line was finished. At five o'clock I commenced, 
and wrote imtil twelve -, rose the next morning at five, 
and by seven sent off by the stages a two-act piece, with 
two songs and a finale, called North Point, or Baltimore 
Defended, the whole completed in nine hours. It is to 
be played to-night. To-morrow I shall hear of its suc- 
cess. 

"The princij^al female character is called Marietta; 
runs away from her father, disguised as a rifle-boy, &c., &c. 

" To Mrs. M. L. CusTis, 

" Mountain View, near Millwood, 

" Frederick county, Virginia." 

Mr. Custis's private correspondence was written with 
much ease and grace, and always manifested the vivacity 
of his temperament. His letters to his family are of a 
character so pm-ely domestic, that they would have no 
interest to the public. The following, having relation to 
another of his literary productions (which appears among 
the RecoUectio'iis), may with propriety be introduced here : 



60 MEMOIR OF 

"Arlington, 19th July, 1833. 

" My Dearest "Wife and Daughter : Your letter arrived 
yesterday. It is not in my power to go down to-day ; 
but if nothing occurs, and you remain in your present 
mind, I will go in the next boat for you, though I can 
only remain until the following Wednesday. God knows 
I can be nowhere happier than with my dear children 
and precious grandson ; and, again, the garrison and mili- 
tary matters, the sea-prospect, vessels, &c., all conspire to 
make a sojourn at the Point a most pleasurable thing to 
me ; but a hard necessity compels me to the constant su- 
perintendence of my affairs at home. I hope another 
year, if I make a tolerable sale of my lands in Stafford 
and Westmoreland, to be more prosperous. 

" I have been requested to write a short biography of 
my grandmother, to be accompanied by a splendid en- 
graving from one of my originals, for Longacre's work, 
called The National Gallery of Portraits, and have consent- 
ed to do it. I have written nothing and jDainted scarcely 
anything, but have read all the time. I have not been 
on my farm ; go to bed exactly at ten, rise at six, break- 
fast at seven, and dine at two. I find myself often call- 
ing that darling boy in my reveries. Give him grandpa's 
kiss and blessing ; and that God may bless you all, prays 
your husband and father, G. W. P. Custis. 

« To Mrs. M. L. Custis, 

" Old Point Comfort, Virginia. 

"P. S. — My Puss has returned, sadly beaten by wild- 
cats." 

Mr. Custis's talent for oratory was brilliant ; and, had 
due attention been paid to its cultivation, he would doubt- 
less have ranked among the first in the land. His 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 61 

speeches, upon many occasions, would fill a volume. 
One of the earliest of those which have been preserved, 
was on the occasion of the funeral solemnities held at 
Georgetown, in the District of Columbia, on the first of 
September, 1812, in honor of General James M. Lingan, 
a worthy soldier of the Revolution, who was killed by a 
political mob, in Baltimore, on the twenty-eighth of July, 
1812. This funeral oration was extemporaneous * Of it 
a contemporary said : " It riveted the attention of the 
audience. The solemn stillness which reigned was only 
interrupted by sighs and tears. We can compare the 
eloquence of Mr. Custis with nothing but the supposed 
eloquence of antiquity. His words possess the fire of 
Demosthenes, and his actions the grace of Cicero. Old 
warriors, who had almost forgotten how to weep, felt the 
stream of sympathy stealing down their furrowed cheeks, 
while their deep, scarred breasts heaved with convulsive 
sobs. Every period glowed with inspiration." 

Not long after this (fifth of June, 1813), he was called 
to address a large audience at Georgetown, assembled to 
celebrate the then recent Russian victories over Napo- 
leon.-|- In that address Mr. Custis displayed, according to 
his contemporaries, some of the most noble characteris- 
tics of true oratory ; and it drew from the Russian min- 
ister at Washington the following letter : — 

"Washington, the lih June, 1813. 

" Sir : In delivering your oration on the occasion of 
the celebration of the Russian victories, you have been 
guided by the motives of an enlightened and indepen- 
dent patriot. The subject of it could not fail to be high- 
ly interesting to every friend of humanity and virtue ; 
and you must have been highly gratified on perceiving 

* See Note ii., p. 571. t See Note iii., p. 585. 



G2 MEMOIR OF 

the strong impression produced upon your respectable 
audience by the dignified, touching, and eloquent man- 
ner you presented it to their minds. You succeeded in 
making them fully sympathize with the distresses of my 
countr}anen who have so bravely stemmed the homicidal 
hurricane raised from the revolutionary den of France, 
and made them magnanimously rejoice with us for bav- 
in o* crushed the most impious attempt against our na- 
tional independence. You may imagine, sir, what effect 
it produced upon the hearts of those whose cradles have 
been burned with their beloved Moscow, and wdiose tears 
can only be assuaged by their enemy's blood. 

" Permit me to express to #you my gratitude, that of 
my family, and of all my countrymen who shall peruse 
your oration, for the zeal and interest you have displayed 
in our cause ; and allow me to send you a small medal, 
with the likeness of Alexander the First, the only one 
which is now in my possession. I can not give you a 
greater token of the value I set on your acquaintance. 

" I have the honor to be with the most sincere and 
high consideration, 

" Sir, your very humble and obedient servant, 

"A. Daschkoff. 

" P. S. — You would confer on me a great obligation, if 
you permit me to take a copy of your oration (should 
it be not printed), which I would like to send to Russia 
by the first favorable opportunity." 

Mr. Custis was often called upon to speak in public, 
at every period of his life, nor did age seem to diminish 
the ardor of his feelings. When in December, 1855, the 
Araoskeag Veterans of Manchester, New Hampshire, 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 63 

joined their surviving companions in arms during the 
war of 1812, at Washington city, Mr. Custis was an 
honored guest among them. He accompanied them, 
and a Large concourse of citizens, to Mount Vernon. 
The whole company went down from "Washington city 
in steamers. On that occasion, Mr. Custis wore the 
epaulette which Washington placed upon his shoulder 
in 1798, as a cornet of horse. "At Alexandria," said 
the Washington Evening Star, "a large concourse of citi- 
zens assembled who listened with gratification to the 
stirring strains of the band. Fort Washington was soon 
reached, and, landing to the tune of ^Yankee Doodle,' 
the party took possession of the stronghold, no sentinel 
appearing to challenge their right. 

"As the boat approached the wharf at Mount Vernon, 
the band played the ' Dead March in Saul,' but on land- 
ing, at the especial request of Mr. Custis, the solemn 
notes were changed into the more inspiring ' Washing- 
ton's Grand March.' Ascending the hill the long column 
uncovered, and with reverential tread passed the hal- 
lowed spot — 

" ' Where rest the ashes of the noblest man, 
That ever freeman mourned since time began ; 
Whose lofty virtues in no age surpassed, 
Have blessed our own age and shall bless the last.' 

"Countermarching, the battalion repaired to a level 
space near the tomb, where it was formed in hollow 
square, and ably addressed by Colonel Potter, who im- 
pressed on every mind the privilege in being permitted 
to gaze on the sacred place, where rest the remains of 
him, who was ^ first in war, first in peace, and first in the 
hearts of his countrymen.' He dwelt upon his virtues, 



64 MEMOIR OF 

remarking, that he saw ^ no north, no south, no east, ro 
west.' He concluded by introducing the only surviving 
member of the "Washington family, G. W. P. Custis, Esq. 

"Loud applause greeted Mr. Custis, who was listened 
to with deep attention, as he recalled his interesting re- 
miniscences of the illustrious owner of the locality near 
whose last resting-place they stood. It was an interest- 
ing scene to see this living relic of the past surrounded 
by the veterans, many of them near their last campaign."* 

At an early period he became much interested in 
the improvement of the breed of sheep. Colonel 
David Humphreys, American minister at Madrid, had 
recently introduced the fine-Avooled Merino sheep into 
the United States. Mr. Custis saw the great advantages 
that his country might derive from the cultivation of 
fine wool, and the establishment of manufactories of cloth, 
and in 1803 he inaugurated an annual convention for 
the promotion of agriculture and domestic manufactures, 
known throughout the country by the title of " Arlington 
Sheep-Shearing." These gatherings were at Arlington 
spring, a large fountain of living waters that gushes from 

* There is no copy of this speech to be found among the papers of Mr. Custis. It 
was doubtless the immediate and unpremeditated outpourings of his heart. Colonel 
Potter, in a letter to Mr. Lossing, dated January 10, 1859, alluding to this speech. 
Bays : — 

" This was among his best, if not the very best of his public speeches. It was on 
an interesting occasion, and his friends called it his happiest effort. I was in com- 
mand of the battalion of 'veterans,' and during our whole march from Manchester, 
N. H., to Mount Vernon, when the best speakers were in requisition at Worcester, 
Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, I heard no speech that in matter and 
manner equalled his in true eloquence. Among the hundreds present there was not 
a dry eye. Men of iron, in my own corps, who probably had never wept since bo}'- 
hood, were overcome, and shed tears like boys, the drops standing upon their bronzed 
cheeks like dew in early morning. True, the time and place had its effect, but 
there was true eloquence in the speech itself." 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 65 

beneath the shade of a venerable oak, not far from the 
banks of the Potomac. There, for many years, on the 
thirtieth of April, the annual shearing took place. A 
large concourse of people would assemble to partici- 
pate in or witness the ceremonies. Toasts were drank, 
speeches were made, and prizes, provided at the sole ex- 
pense of Mr. Custis, were distributed among those who 
presented the best specimens of sheep or wool, and do- 
mestic manufactures. These were the first prizes ever 
offered for such objects in America. Under the great war- 
tent of Washington, yet preserved at Arlington house, 
many of the noblest men of the land have assembled on 
these festivals, when they and the entire concourse were 
entertained in a most generous manner by the host, who 
usually made a stirring speech appropriate to the occasion. 
In one of them he said, prophetically : " America shall be 
great and free, and minister to her own wants by the 
employment of her own resources. The citizen of my 
country will proudly appear, when clothed in the pro- 
duce of his native soil." It must be remembered that, at^ 
that time, every yard of broadcloth worn in the United 
States was imported from Europe. 

The following letters to Mr. Custis, from Mr. Madison 
(then secretary of state, and soon afterward president of 
the United States), possess an interest in this connec- 
tion : — 

"Mr. Madison has received Mr. Custis's note of the 
30th ultimo, with the specimen of fine wool accompany- 
ing it. He offers for himself the thanks to which Mr. 
Custis is entitled, from all his fellow-citizens, for his laud- 
able and encouraging efforts to increase and improve an 
animal which contributes a material so precious to the 

.5 



66 MEMOIR OF 

independent comfort and prosperity of our country. 
Mr. Madison wishes that Mr. Custis may be amply grati- 
fied in the success of his improving experiments, and 
that his patriotic example may find as many followers as 
it merits. 

"Washington, August 2, 1807." 

" I have been duly favored, dear sir, with yours of the 

7th. Not having taken with me to Virginia a sample of 

the Smith's island wool, which you were so good as to 

furnish me, I can not judge of its merit by comparison 

with the fleeces in the part of the country where I dwell. 

I regret it the more, as I have always considered them 

as among the best in point of fineness, though not of 

weight, which the American flocks yield. It gives me 

pleasure to find your attention to this interesting subject 

does not relax, and that you are so successfully inviting 

to it other public-spirited gentlemen. 

" I remain, sir, with great respect and esteem, 

" Your most obedient humble servant, 

"James Madison. 
"Washington, October 10, 1807." 

The beautiful flock of fine sheep upon the Arlington 
farm were preyed upon by thieves and dogs, until their 
number was reduced to two. These, in the language of 
the owner, " long ranged over the hills of Arlington in 
solitary state." Until the close of his life, Mr. Custis 
took great interest in agricultural affairs, and was for 
several years previous to that event, an active member, 
and one of the vice-presidents of the United States Agri- 
cultural Society. 

In the war of 1812, he served as a volunteer to 
oppose the British when they penetrated Maryland, 



GEORGE WASHE^GTON PARKE CUSTIS. 67 

and ascended the Potomac, to attack Washington city. 
He would never accept any pay for his services; and 
while assisting the veterans of that war in prosecuting 
their claims upon the government, he withdrew his own. 

When Lafayette came to the United States, in 1824, 
as the guest of the nation, Mr. Custis was among those 
who met him at the federal capital as a personal friend. 
True, his recollection of the illustrious Frenchman, while 
on his last visit to Mount Vernon in the autumn of 1784, 
was dim and shadowy, yet the son of that hero and bene- 
factor, who now accompanied him, and who bore the name 
of George Washington, had been the companion of his 
youthful days at Mount Yernon, when Lafayette was in 
exile.''' Mr. Custis spent much time with the illustrious 
guest at Arlington and elsewhere. At the tomb of 
Washington, in the presence of a large number of per- 
sons, he presented Lafayette with a ring, in which was 
some of the hair of the Pater Patriae. The presentation 
was accompanied by some touching remarks, to which 
Lafayette responded in the most feeling manner. An 
account of the proceedings on that occasion may be found 
in the Appendix. 

After the departure of the illustrious guest from 

* The following letter written by the younger Lafayette, while in this country, to 
Mr. Custis, is preserved among others, at Arlington : — 

"Washington Citt, January the third, 1825. 

" Mt dear Custis : My father being able to dispose of himself on Wednesday, 
will do himself the pleasure of going that day to dine at Arlington. It is so long since 
I wished for that satisfaction myself, that I most sincerely rejoice at the anticipation 
of it. You know, my friend, how happy I was when we met at Baltimore. Since 
that day, I felt every day more and more, how much our two hearts were calculated 
to understand each other. Be pleased, my dear Custis, to present my respectful 
homage to the ladies, and receive for yourself the expression of my most affectionate 
and brotherly sentiments. 

" G. W. Lafayette." 



68 MEMOIR OF 

America^ Mr. Custis wrote and published a series of 
most entertaining articles, entitled, Convermiions ivith 
Lafayette. It was at that time that he conceived the 
design of committing to paper his own recollections of 
the private life of "Washington, and the first of the series 
was published in the National Intelligencer in 1826. 

One of the princijDal amusements of Mr. Custis's later 
years, was painting revolutionary battle-scenes in which 
Washington partici23ated. Upon these he worked with 
the greatest enthusiasm. Considering the circumstances 
mider which they were jDroduced — painted without being 
first composed or drawn in outline, by an entirely self 
taught hand more than threescore and ten years old — 
they are remarkable. In general conception and group- 
ing, they are spirited and original. He was not disposed 
to devote the time and labor requisite to their careful 
execution, and therefore, as works of art merely, they 
have but little merit. Their chief value lies in their 
truthfulness to history in the delineation of events, inci- 
dents, and costumes. They are aU at Arlington, six in 
number, namely, battles of Trentoyi, Princeton, Germa^h 
toivn, and Monmouth, Washington at Yorktotvn, and the Sur- 
render at YorJctoivn. 

For some weeks previous to his death, Mr. Custis com- 
plained of debility and depression of spirits ; but even 
then, he contemplated, with much pleasure, an excursion 
to the great West, to attend the agricultural fair at 
Louisville. Unwillingly was he compelled to relinquish 
this design ; and only for four days did he occujDy the bed 
from Avhich he never arose. His disease was pulmonary 
pneumonia. Fully impressed with the belief that he 
could not survive the attack, the terrors of death seemed 



GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 69 

mercifully withdrawn, and with the gentleness and trust 
of a child did he await its approach. Regarding his 
daughter and her children who surrounded him, with 
touching affection, he often alluded to his " blessed wife," 
and her unceasing prayers for him. After a night of in- 
tense suffering and insensibility, he roused himself, and 
with that transient gleam of light that usually pre- 
cedes dissolution. Solemnly he embraced each member 
of his family, took leave of an old servant who attended 
in his room, requested his pastor to be summoned, to 
whom he avowed his belief and hope in the only atone- 
ment offered for sinners, with clasped hands joined in the 
prayer for the dying, and then gently sunk to rest in the 
seventy-seventh year of his age. 

Thus expired, on the 10th of October, 1857, the last 
male representative of his family — thus was broken for 
ever a link between the illustrious Father of his Country 
and the present generation. 

"Palida mors a'quo pulsat pede pauperum tabernas, 
Regum-que turres." 

The funeral of Mr. Custis took place at Arlington on 
the 12th. " As was anticipated," said the National Intel- 
ligencer, " the solemn event convened a numerous con- 
course of friends who had long been associated with the 
venerp.ble man, and who had enjoyed many pleasing 
hours in listening to and witnessing the feelings of genu- 
ine patriotism which inspired him, as he related familiar 
incidents in the life and character of the illustrious 
"Washington. 

" Besides the family and their particular friends, officers 
of the army and navy, distinguished gentlemen of the 
legal profession, residents of "Washington, Georgetown, 



70 MEMOIR OF 

and Alexandria, as well as the neighbors of the deceased 
for many miles around, thronged the parlors and halls. 

" ^ Mount Vernon Guards of Alexandria,' the ' Associ- 
ation of the Survivors of the War of 1812 of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia,' a delegation of the ^ Jamestown So- 
ciety of the District,' field and staff officers of the volun- 
teer-regiment, and the Washington light-infantry, with 
their banners and fine martial music, and a delegation 
of the officers of the President's mounted guard, all 
travelled a distance of six miles to unite in the solemn 
testimonials of respect. 

" The pall-bearers appointed were, William W. Seaton, 
Philip R. Fendall, Cassius F. Lee, Bushrod W. Hunter, 
Henry Dangerfield, and William B. Randolph. 

" The religious services were conducted in an impres- 
sive manner by the Rev. C. B. Dana, of Christ church, 
Alexandria, according to the usages of the Protestant 
Episcopal church. 

" The interment took place in a beautiful grove a short 
distance from the mansion, after which aU retired in 
silence. The occasion awakened touching reminiscences 
of many pleasant days spent at the celebrated ' Spring 
of Arlington.' "* 

* The Arlington spring already mentioned, as the place of the annual sheep- 
shearing, was, for many years, a point of great resort for picnic-parties from Wash- 
ington, Georgetown, and Alexandria; and a small boat, used for conveying parties 
thither, was named " G. W. P. Custis." It was estimated that at some seasons, 
from fifteen to twenty thousand people visited the spring on such occasions. Around 
the spring is a beautiful shaded lawn; and the generous proprietor, ever ready to 
give happiness to others, erected a wharf for the public accommodation, a store- 
room, kitchen, dining-hall sixty feet in length, and a saloon of the same dimensions 
for dancing in. No spiritous liquors were permitted to be sold there, and visiters 
were not allowed there on the sabbath. All that he asked in return, was good be- 
havior, and a reciprocation of the kind feeling which made every class of respectable 
citizens cordially welcome. i 



1 



GEORGE WASHINGTON TARKE CUSTIS. 71 

The death of Mr. Custis produced a marked sensation 
throughout the country. He Avas universally known, 
beloved, and honored, as the " child of Mount Vernon ;" 
and everywhere the press paid the tribute of most pro- 
found respect to his memory. " For several years," said 
the National Intelligencer, in noticing his death, " he had 
stood alone in his relations to the Father of his Country, 
ever anxious, with filial reverence and affection, to illus- 
trate his character, and from the rich stores of his never- 
failing memory, to bring forward an annual tribute to 
his immortal worth. Known and honored by his fellow- 
countrymen, his departure will awaken universally a 
profound regret. 

"Born amid the great events of the Revolution, by 
the death of his father (Colonel Custis, of the army, and 
a son of Mrs. Washington by a former marriage), w^hich 
occurred near the close of the war, he found his home 
during childhood and youth at Mount Vernon, where his 
manners were formed after the noblest models ; and from 
the great worthies of that period, frequent guests there, 
he received impressions of wisdom and patriotism that 
were never effaced. Under the counsels of Washington 
he pursued his classical studies at Princeton, and when 
deprived by death of his great guide and father (and 
soon after of his revered grandmother), he devoted him- 
self to literary and agricultural pursuits on his ample 
estate of Arlington. 

"Mr. Custis was distinguished by an original genius 
for eloquence, poetry, and the fine arts ; by a knowledge 
of history, particularly the history of this country ; for 
great powers of conversation, for an ever-ready and gen- 
erous hospitality, for kindness to the poor, for patriotism, 



fl 



72 ]MEMOIR OF GEORGE WASHINGTON PARKE CUSTIS. 



for constancy of friendship, and for a more than fiUal 
devotion to the memory and character of Washington. 
His early speeches on the death of General Lingan and 
the overthrow of Napoleon were everywhere read and 
admired, even by those who dissented from the senti- 
ments, for the beauty of their conception and their 
impassioned eloquence. Those familiar with the columns 
of this journal will not forget how largely we, and the 
country, are indebted to the warm and ever-cheerful 
spirit of the deceased for many invaluable reminiscences 
of Revolutionary history, of the distinguished men of 
those times, and especially of the private life of their 
glorious chief in the retirement of the shades of his 
home at Mount Vernon. 

" Thousands from this country, and from foreign lands, 
who have visited Arlington to commune with our de- 
parted friend, and look upon the touching memorials 
there treasured up with care, of him who was first in the 
hearts of his countrymen, will not forget the charm 
thrown over all by the ease, grace, interest, and vivacity 
of the manners and conversation of him whose voice, 
alas! is silent now. The multitudes of our fellow-citi- 
zens accustomed, in the heat of summer, to resort to the 
shades of Arlington, will hereafter miss that old man 
eloquent, who ever extended to them a warm-hearted 
welcome and became partaker of their joy." 

In stature, Mr. Custis was of medium height, and well- 
formed; his com^Dlexion fair and somewhat florid; his 
eyes light and expressive of great kindliness of nature ; 
his voice full, rich, and melodious ; his deportment grace- 
ful and winning ; his courtesy to strangers extremely cor- 
dial ; and his affection for his friends, warm and abiding. 



CORRESPONDENCE 

BETWEEN 

WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS, 



Philadelphia, loth Novemher 1796. 

Dear Washington : Yesterday's mail brought me* your 
letter of the 12th instant, and under cover of this letter 
you will receive a ten-doUar bill, to purchase a gown, &c., 
if proper. But as the classes may be distinguished by a 
different insignia, I advise you not to provide these with- 
out first obtaining the approbation of your tutors ; other- 
mse you may be distinguished more by folly, than by 
the dress.* 

It affords me pleasure to hear that you are agreeably 
fixed ; and I receive still more from the assurance you 
give of attending closely to your studies. It is you 
yourself who is to derive immediate benefit from these. 
Your country may do it hereafter. The more knowl- 
edge you acquire, the greater will be the probability of 
your succeeding in both, and the greater will be your 
thirst for more. 

I rejoice to hear you went through your examination 

* Young Custis, was a student in Princeton college, Ne7/ Jersey, at tliat time, 
and Washington, then president of the United States, was residing in Philadelphia, 
Ihat being the federal city. 



74 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

with propriety, and have no doubt but that the president 
has placed you in the class which he conceived best 
adapted to the present state of your improvement. The 
more there are above you, the greater your exertions 
should be to ascend ; but let your promotion result from 
your own application, and from intrinsic merit, not from 
the labors of others. The last would prove fallaciouft-, 
and expose you to the reproach of the daw in borrowed 
feathers. This would be inexcusable in you, because 
there is no occasion for it ; forasmuch, as you need 
nothing but the exertion of the talents you possess, with 
proper directions, to acquire all that is necessary ; and 
the hours allotted for study, if properly improved, will 
enable you to do this. Although the confinement may 
feel irksome at first, the advantages resulting from it, to 
a reflecting mind, will soon overcome it. 

Endeavor to conciliate the good will of all your fellow- 
bludents, rendering them every act of kindness in your 
power. Be particularly obliging and attentive to your 
chamber-mate, Mr. Forsyth; who, from the account I 
have of him, is an admirable young man, and strongly 
impressed with the importance of a liberal and finished 
education. But above all, be obedient to your tutors, 
and in a particular manner respect the president of the 
seminary, who is both learned and good. 

For any particular advantages you may derive from 
the attention and aid of Mr. Forsyth, I shall have a dis- 
position to reward. One thing more and I will close this 
letter. Never let an indigent person ask, without re- 
ceiving somethinff, if you have the means ; always recol- 
lecting in what light the widow's mite was viewed. 

Your grandmother, sister, and all here are well, and 



I 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 75 

feeling a strong interest in your welfare, join most cordi- 
ally with me in every good wish for it. 
Affectionately, 

I am your sincere friend, 

G. Washington. 
Mr. Geo. Washington Parke Custis. 

Philadelphia, 2^th November, 1796. 

Dear Washington : In a few hasty Knes, covering your 
sister's letter and a comb, on Saturday last, I promised to 
write more fully to you by the post of this day. I am 
now in the act of performing that promise. 

The assurances you give me of ajDplying diligently to 
your studies, and fulfilling those obhgations which are 
enjoined by your Creator and due to his creatures, are 
highly pleasing and satisfactory to me. I rejoice in it on 
two accounts ; first, as it is the sure means of laying the 
foundation of your own happiness, and rendering you, if 
it should please God to spare your life, a useful member 
of society hereafter ; and secondly, that I may, if I five 
to enjoy the pleasure, reflect that I have been, in some 
degree, instrumental in effecting these purposes. 

You are now extending into that stage of hfe when 
good or bad habits are formed. When the mind will be 
turned to things useful and praiseworthy, or to dissipa- 
tion and vice. Fix on whichever it may, it will stick by 
you ; for you know it has been said, and truly, " that as 
the twig is bent so it will grow." This, in a strong point 
of view, shows the propriety of letting your inexperience 
be directed by maturer advice, and in placing guard upon 
the avenues which lead to idleness and vice. The latter 
will approach like a thief, working upon your passions ; 
encouraged, perhaps, by bad examples; the propensity 



76 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

to which will mcrease in proportion to the practice of it 
and your yielding. This admonition proceeds from the 
purest affection for you ; but I do not mean by it, that 
3^ou are to become a stoic, or to deprive yourself in the 
intervals of study of any recreations or manly exercise 
which reason approves. 

'Tis well to be on good terms with all your fellow- 
students, and I am pleased to hear you are so, but while 
a courteous behavior is due to all, select the most de- 
serving only for your friendships, and before this becomes 
intimate, weigh their dispositions and character tvell. 
True friendship is a plant of slow growth ; to be sincere, 
there must be a congeniahty of temper and pursuits. 
Virtue and vice can not be allied ; nor can idleness and 
industry ; of course, if you resolve to adhere to the two 
former of these extremes, an intimacy with those who 
incline to the latter of them, would be extremely embar- 
rassing to you ; it would be a stumbhng-block in your 
way, and act like a millstone hung to your neck, for it 
is the nature of idleness and vice to obtain as many 
votaries as they can. 

I would guard you, too, against imbibing hasty and 
unfavorable impressions of any one. Let your judgment 
always balance well, before you decide ; and even then, 
where there is no occasion for expressing an opinion, it 
is best to be silent, for there is nothing more certain 
than that it is at all times more easy to make enemies 
than friends. And besides, to speak evil of any one, un- 
less there is unequivocal proofs of their deserving it, is 
an injury for which there is no adequate reparation. 
For, as Shakespeare says, " He that robs me of my good 
name enriches not himself, but renders me poor indeed," 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 77 

or words to that effect. Keep in mind that scarcely any 
change would be agreeable to you at first from the sud- 
den transition, and from never having been accustomed 
to shift or rough it. And, moreover, that if you meet 
with collegiate fare, it will be unmanly to complain. 
My paper reminds me it is time to conclude. 
Affectionately, 

Your sincere friend, 

G. Washington. 
P. S. — I presume you received my letter covering a 
ten-dollar bill to pay for your gown, although it is not 
mentioned. To acknowledge the receipt of letters is al- 
ways proper, to remove doubts of their miscarriage. 

Philadelphia, \^th December, 1796. 
Dear Washington: I am not certain whether I have 
written to you since the receipt of your letter of the first 
instant, for, as my private letters are generally despatched 
in a hurr}?", and copies not often taken, I have nothing to 
resort to, to refresh my memory ; be this, however, as it 
may, we are always glad to hear from you, though we 
do not wish that letter-writing should interfere with your 
more useful and profitable occupations. The pleasure of 
hearing you were well, in good spirits, and progressing 
as we could wish in your studies, was communicated by 
your letter of the fourteenth instant, to your grandmamma; 
but what gave me particular satisfaction, was to find that 
you were going to commence, or had commenced a course 
of reading with Doctor Smith,* of such books as he 

* Samuel Stanhope Smith, then president of Princeton college, was a distinguish- 
ed Presbyterian clergyman. He was born at Pequea, Pennsylvania, in March, 1750 ; 
was educated at his father's academy ; entered Princeton college when in his six- 
teenth year; took the degree of bachelor of arts in 1769, when he was graduated- 



78 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

had chosen for the purpose. The first is very desirable, 
the other indispensable ; for, besides the duty enjoined 
upon you by the instructions of your preceptors, whilst 
your own judgment is locked up in immaturity ; you now 
have a peculiar advantage in the attentions of Doctor 
Smith to you, who, being a man of learning and taste 
himself, will select such authors and subjects, as will lay 
the foundation of useful knowledge ; let me impress it 
upon you, therefore, again and again, not only to yield 
imphcit obedience to his choice and instructions in this 
respect, but to the course of studies also, and that you 
would pursue both wdth zeal and steadiness. Light 
reading (by this, I mean books of little importance) 
may amuse for the moment, but leaves nothing soHd 
behind. 

The same consequences would follow from inconstancy 
and want of steadiness — for 'tis to close application and 
constant perseverance, men of letters and science are in- 
debted for their knowledge and usefulness ; and you are 
now at that period of hfe (as I have observed to you in a 
former letter) when these are to be acquired, or lost for 
ever. But as you are well acquainted with my sentiments 
on this subject, and know how anxious all your friends are 

and soon afterward became a tutor in the college. There he remained two years, 
studying theology at the same time, when he became a licensed minister, and entered 
upon missionary labors in the western counties of Virginia. He was very popular, 
and was selected to preside over the new college of Hampden Sidney, in Prince Ed- 
ward county, Virginia. He was chosen professor of moral philosophy in Princeton 
college, in 1779 ; and after laboring successfully for several years as vice-president, to 
build up the college, and as a clergymen for the interests of the Presbyterian churcJi, 
he was chosen, in 1795, president of the college, in place of Doctor Witherspoon, 
•who had died the preceding year. Ill health compelled him to relinquisli his charge, 
in 1812, and in August, 1819, he died, at the age of nearly seventy years. Doctor 
Smith was distinguished for his great goodness, thorough scholarship, polished man- 
ners, eloquence as a preacher, and elegance and perspicuity as a writer. 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 79 

to see you enter upon the grand theatre of hfe, with the 

advantages of a finished education, a highly cultivated 

mind, and a proper sense of your duties to God and 

man, I shall only add one sentiment more before I close 

this letter (which, as I have others to write, will hardly 

be in time for the mail), and that is, to pay due respect 

and obedience to your tutors, and affectionate reverence 

to the president of the college, whose character merits 

your highest regards. Let no bad example, for such is 

to be met in all seminaries, have an improper influence 

» upon yoiir conduct. Let tliis be such, and let it be your 

pride, to demean yourself in such a manner as to obtain 

the good will of your superiors, and the love of your 

fellow-students. 

Adieu — I sincerely wish you well, being your attached 

and affectionate friend, 

G. Washington. 
To Mr. Geo. "Washington Custis. 

/ Philadelphia, 11th January, 1797 

Dear "Washington: I hasten to acknowledge the re- 
ceipt of your letter, dated the 7th instant, but which did 
not get to my hands until yesterday, and to express to 
you the sincere pleasure I feel in finding that I had in- 
terpreted some parts of your letters erroneously. As 
you have the best and most unequivocal evidence the 
case is susceptible of, that I have no other object in view 
by extending my cares and advice to you than what will 
redound to your own respectability, honor, and future 
happiness in life, so be assured, that while you give me 
reasons to expect a ready submission to my counsels, and 
while I hear that you are diligent in pursuing the means 
which are to acquire these advantages, it will afford me 



80 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

infinite gratification. Your last letter is replete with 
assurances of this nature — I place entire confidence in 
them. They have removed all the doubts which were 
expressed in my last letter to you, and let me repeat it 
again, have conveyed very pleasing sensations to my 
mind. 

It was not my wish to check your correspondences — 
very far from it ; for with proper characters (and none 
surely can be more desirable than with your papa and 
Mr. Lear), and on proper subjects, it will give you a 
habit of expressing your ideas upon all occasions with 
facility and correctness. I meant no more, by telling 
you we should be content with hearing from you once a 
week, than that these correspondences were not to be 
considered as an injunction or an imposition, thereby in- 
terfering with your studies or concerns of a more im- 
portant nature. So far am I from discountenancing 
writing of any kind (except upon the principle above- 
mentioned), that I should be pleased to hear, and you 
yourself might derive advantages from a short diary 
(recorded in a book) of the occurrences which happen 
to you within your sphere. Trifling as this may appear 
at first view, it may become an introduction to more in- 
teresting matters. At any rate, by carefully preserving 
these, it would afibrd you more satisfaction in a retro- 
spective view, than what you may conceive at present. 

Another thing I would recommend to you — not be- 
cause /want to know \\oy^ you spend your money — and 
that is, to keep an account-book, and enter therein every 
farthing of your receipts and expenditures. The doing 
of which would initiate you into a habit, from which con- 
siderable advantao;es would result. Where no account 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 81 

of this sort is kept, there can be no investigation ; no cor- 
rection of errors ; no discovery from a recurrence thereto, 
wherein too much, or too httle, has been appropriated to 
particular uses. From an early attention to these mat- 
ters, important and lasting benefits may follow. 

We are all well, and all unite in best wishes for you ; 
and with sincere affection I am always j^ours, 

G. Washington. 
Mr. G. Washington Custis. 

i 

Nassau Hall, 2oth March, 1797. 

Dearest Sir : A letter from my sister this morning, in- 
formed me of 3^our safe arrival at Mount Vernon, the 
ignorance of which event has hitherto prevented me 
from writing. 1 congratulate you on a thing so ardently 
wished for by all those interested in your welflire. The 
marks of approbation and esteem manifested in the man- 
ner of the different states through which you jDassed, 
must have have been highly gratifying, and the pleasure 
felt on reaching the destined haven must have rendered 
your happiness complt-te. 

The different studies I have passed through during 
the winter, I am now reviewing ; and the evident good 
effects resulting from an attention to them at first, are 
now conspicuous. The examination will come on in a 
fortnight, and immediately after the vacation will com- 
mence. The money you were so kind as to transmit for 
my expenses, I shall receive at my departure, and keep 
regular accounts of all expenditures. I shall start the 
next day, and pass through Philadelphia without stop- 
ping, so that I can have twenty days to stay at home ; 
my anxiety to attain this end will preponderate against 
all other considerations. The Roman history I have. 

6 



82 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

read, reviewed, and am perfect in. The translating 
French has become quite famihar, and the great amount 
of writing attending this exercise has unproved my hand. 
I have read a great many good authors this winter, and 
have particularly studied Hume ; have obtained a tolerable 
idea of geography, and, sir, in justice to myself and my 
own endeavors, I think I have spent my time in a man- 
ner not to be complained of ■ I must confess I have not 
made so much progress in arithmetic as I ought, owing 
to a variety of circumstances, and the superficial man- 
ner in which I imbibed the first principles ; but in the 
ensuing summer I shall make up the deficiency, and then 
hope I shall have nothing to regret. If, sir, by remain- 
ing in Philadelphia I could serve you in any way, I will 
do so with pleasure. For myself, I have no desire to 
delay a moment. I conclude, by wishing you aU health 
and happiness. Remember me to all the family, and be- 
lieve me sincerely yours, G. W. P. Custis. 
GcoRGE Washington, Esq. 

, Mount Vei.non, Zd April, 1797. 

^ Dear Washington: Your letter of tho 25th ultimo has 
been duly received, and as your grandmamma or sister 
will write to you by this post, I shall leave it to them to 
furnish you with the details of our journey, and the 
occurrences since cur ariival. 

It gives me singular pleasure to hear that your time 
has been so well employed dui'ing the last winter, and 
that you are so sensible of the good efiects of it yourself 
If your improvement in other matters is equal to that 
which is visible in your writing, it can not but be pleas- 
ing to your friends ; for the change there, both in the 
characters and diction is considerably for the better. A 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 83 

perseverance in such a course will redound much to your 
own benefit and reputation, and will make you at all 
times a welcome guest at Mount Vernon. 

I have nothing to do in which jou could be usefully 
employed in Philadelphia, and approve your determin- 
ation to delay no time at that or any other place on the 
road, that you may have the more of it to spend among 
your friends in this quarter, who are very anxious to see 
you. 

We are all in a litter and dirt, occasioned by joiners, 
masons, and painters, working in the house, all parts of 
which, as well as the out-buildings, I find upon examin- 
litioir, to be exceedingly out of repairs. 

I am always and affectionately yours, 

G. Washington. 

The following letter, as evincing General Washington's 
deep solicitude for his adopted son, is here inserted, al- 
though the occasion that called it forth is unknown, the 
letter of Dr. Smith not being found among the corre- 
spondence :— 
/ Mount Vernon, 24!!^ 3fa.y, 1797. 

Reverend and dear Sir: Your favor of the 18th instant 
was received by the last post, the contents of which, 
relative to Mr. Custis, filled my mind (as you naturally 
supposed it would) with extreme disquietude. From his 
infancy I have discovered an almost unconquerable dis- 
position to indolence in everything that did not tend to 
his amusements; and have exhorted him in the most 
parental and friendly manner often, to devote his time to 
more useful pursuits. His pride has been stimulated, and 
his family expectations and wishes have been urged as 



84 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

inducements tliereto. In short, I could say nothing to 
him now hy way of admonition, encouragement, or ad- 
vice, that has not been rej^eated over and over again. 

It is my earnest desire to keep him to his studies as 
long as I am able, as well on account of the benefits he 
will derive from them, as for the purpose of excluding 
him from the company of idle and dissipated young men 
until his judgment is more matured. 

I can but thank you, sir, for your exertions to remove 
the error of his present thoughts, and I shall hope for 
your further endeavors to effect it. If you find, however, 
that the attempt will be in vain, I shall rely on your 
judgment to employ his time in such studies as you con- 
ceive will be most advantageous to him during his con- 
tinuance with you, and I know of none more likely to 
prove so than those you have suggested, if his term at 
college will close with the next vacation. With very 
great esteem and regard, I am, reverend sir. 

Your most obedient and very humble servant, 

G. Washington. 

The Eeverend Doctor S. Shith. 

Several letters must have been destroyed, as the 
" error" referred to by Washington is not explained. If 
we may judge from the following letter, it \i2i'& forgiven. 

Nassau Hall, 29/A May, 1797. 
Dearest Sir : Words can not express my present sen- 
sations; a heart overflowing with joy at the success of 
conscience over disposition is all I have to give. Dearest 
sir, did you but know the effect your letter has produced 
it would give you as consummate pleasure as my former 
one did pain. My very soul, tortured with the stings of 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 85 

conscience, at length called reason to its aid, and happily 
for me triumphed. That I shall ever recompense you 
for the trouble I have occasioned, is beyond my hopes. 
However, I will now make a grand exertion, and show 
you that your grandson shall once more deserve your 
favor. Could you but see how happy I now am, you 
would soon forget all that is past, and let my future con- 
duct prove the truth of my assertions. Good God, how 
just your letter ! but, alas, we are poor weak creatures, 
and never believe what we do not feel. Could I ho]3e 
this would restore your peace • of mind my happiness 
would be complete. My time appears to me now too 
short. I shall seize the present moments, and God grant 
I may be a pleasure to my friends, family, and self I 
can not say too much on this subject, I wait for your 
letter which I can already read. That I have abused 
such goodness is shocking, that I shall ever do so ao-ain 
I will risk my life. Confiding, dearest sir, in your equity 
and fatherly affection, I subscribe myself, with the sin- 
cerest and most heartfelt joy, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 

Mount Vernon, ith June, 1797. 
I Your letter of the 29th ultimo, came to hand by the 
post of Friday, and eased my mind of many unpleasant 
sea^ations and reflections on your account. It has, in- 
deed, done more, it has filled it with pleasure more easy 
to be conceived than expressed ; and if your sorrow and 
repentance for the disquietude occasioned by the preced- 
ing letter, your resolution to abandon the ideas which 
were therein expressed, are sincere, I shall not only 
heartily forgive, but will forget also, and bury in ob- 
livion all that has passed. 



86 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

As a testimony of my disposition to do this — of the 
hope I had conceived that reflection would overcome an 
indolent habit or bad advice — not a hint respecting this 
matter has been given to any of your friends in this 
quarter, although Doctor Stuart* and your mother (with 
their children) left this on Thursday last, after a stay of 
a week, and both Mr. Law and Mr. Peter have been here 
since the recei^Dt of it. In a word, your grandmamma, 
sister, and myself, are all who were acquainted there- 
with. 

You must not suffer the resolution you have recently 
entered into, to operate as the mere result of a moment- 
ary impulse, occasioned by the letters you have received 
from hence. This resolution should be founded on sober 
reflection, and a thorough conviction of your error, other- 
wise it will be as wavering as the wind, and become the 
sport of conflicting passions, which will occasion such a 
lassitude in your exertions as to render your studies of 
little avail. To insure permanency, think seriously of the 
advantages which are to be derived, on the one hand, 
from the steady pursuit of a course of study to be marked 
out by your preceptor, whose judgment, experience, and 
acknowledged abilities, enables him to direct them ; and, 
on the other hand, revolve as seriously on the conse- 
quences which would inevitably result from an indispo- 
sition to this measure, or from an idle habit of hankering 
after unprofitable amusements at your time of life, before 
you have acquired that knowledge which would be found 
beneficial in every situation; I say before, because it is not 
my wish that, having gone through the essentials, you 
should be deprived of any rational amusement afterward; 

* Doctor Stuart married young Custis's mother not long after her husband's death. 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 87 

or, lastl}^, from dissipation in such company as you would 
most likely meet under such circumstances, who, but too 
often, mistake ribaldry for wit and rioting, swearing, in- 
toxication, and gambling, for manliness. 

These things are not without momentary charms to 
young minds susceptible of any impression, before the 
judgment in some measure is formed, and reason begins 
to preponderate. It is on this ground, as well as on ac- 
count of the intrinsic advantages that you yourself would 
experience hereafter from it, that I am desirous of keep- 
ing you to your studies. And if such characters as I 
have described should be found instrumental, either by 
their advice or example, in giving your mind a wrong 
bias, shun them as you would a pestilence ; for, be assured, 
it is not with such qualities as these you ought to be 
allied, or with those who possess them to have any 
'friendship. 

These sentiments are dictated by the purest regard for 
your welfare, and from an earnest desire to promote your 
true happiness, in which all your friends feel an interest, 
and would be much gratified to see accomplished, while 
it would contribute in an eminent degree to your re- 
spectability in the eyes of others. 

Your endeavors to fulfill these reasonable wishes of 
ours can not fail of restoring all the attentions, protec- 
tion, and affection, of one who ever has been, and will 
continue to be, your sincere friend, 

G. Washington. 
Mr. George "W. P. Custis. 

Nassau Hall, /«;?(? %th, 1797. 
With a heart overflowing with gratitude, love, and joy, 
I return you thanks for your favor of the 4th ultimo, and 



88 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

could my words do justice to my feelings, I would paint 
them in their highest tints, but w^ords communicate ideas 
not sensations. Your letter, fraught with wdiat reason, 
prudence, and affection, only can dictate, is engraven on 
my mind, and has taken root in a soil which I shall cul- 
tivate, and which, I hope, may become fruitful ; and, dear 
sir, while I look up to that Providence which has pre- 
served me in my late contest with my passions, and en- 
abled me to act in a way which will redound to my 
honor, permit me to make this humble confession, that if 
in any way, or by any means, I depart from your direction 
and guardianship, I may suffer as such imprudence shall 
deserve. That your letter and the directions contained 
therein, were from the purest motives, I can not doubt 
for one moment, as they are from one to whom I have 
looked for support on earth, and from whom I have ex- 
perienced the most unbounded generosity. During my 
recess from college I was not idle, having with Doctor 
Smith studied the use of the globes, and got a tolerable 
insight into geography. We shall pursue, this summer 
privately, Priestley's Elements of Natural History, and 
Smith's Constitution. I have, at length, attained a room 
to myself, and shall take for a room-mate a Mr. Cassius 
Lee, son of Richard Henry Lee, a young man lately ar- 
rived from the eastward, where he has been pursuing 
his studies privately. He is of an amiable disposition, and 
very well informed. I shall have an opportunity of 
giving you better information about him when he has 
resided with me some time, as yet he is perfectly agree- 
able and very engaging. My class are now studying the 
Roman History, with which I am w^ell acquainted, having 
previously studied it with the doctor. The things you 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 89 

commissioned me to get I have providedj and suppose 
you have the accounts now for adjustment. They are 
perfectly suitable, and I hope reasonable. I will now 
conclude, with expressing, what I have always had near- 
est my heart, a desire of your esteem. Be assured naught 
shall be wanting on my part to obtain the same ; and that 
the great Parent of the universe may prolong your daj^s, 
is the sincere prayer of your ever affectionate, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 

Nassau Hall, Jidy 1st, 1797. • 

Dearest Sir : Since my last, nothing material has oc- 
curred ; the weather is excessively sultry, the thermom- 
eter being generally at 98°, which makes study and con- 
finement very disagreeable. I have much time to read, 
which I shall employ to that end, and am studying Priest- 
ley's Lectures on History, with the doctor, and reading 
Smollett and Hume by myself. 

We shall commence geography the middle of this 
month, and devote the remainder of the session to that 
alone. I have studied the use of the globes and maps 
during my recess from college. 

I have written to my old private tutor to solicit his 
correspondence, and have received a letter from him ex- 
pressing his approbation of the measure. 

The fourth of July will be celebrated with all possible 
magnificence ; the college will be illuminated and cannon 
fired ; a ball will be held at the tavern in the evening, 
which I shall not attend, as I do not consider it con- 
sistent with propriety. 

Mr. Cassius Lee, the gentlemen I informed you I had 
taken as a room-mate, is a remarkably moral and modest 
young man. I have no doubt we shall live happily to- 



90 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

gether. He is a son of Richard H. Lee, and brother to 
Ludwell. My room is fitted up very neatly and comfort- 
ably, though when the senior class leave college, I may 
almost have my choice. 

Mr. Burwell called on his way to Boston, and informed 
me you wei'e not very well. I sincerely hope it pro- 
ceeded merely from cold or fatigue, and will not produce 
unpleasant consequences. 

I now conclude, wishing you health and all the happi- 
, ness this world can afford. Be assured I remain, 
Most sincerely. 

Your affectionate, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 

P. S. — Mr. Lee's respectful compliments wait on you, 
sir. He is happy to inform you he left your nephew 
well at Andover, Massachusetts. 

To George Washington, Esq. 

Mount Vernon, 10th Juhj, 1797. 
'*' Dear Washington : Your letter of the first instant was 
received by the last mail (on Friday), and your other 
letter, of the eighth of June, remains unacknowledged, 
owing principally to engagements without doors in my 
harvest fields, and to company within, for we have scarcely 
been alone a day for more than a month, and now have 
a house full, among whom are your sisters. Law and 
Peter. 

To hear you are in good health, and progressing well 
in your studies, affords pecuHar satisfaction to your 
friends, and to none more than myself; as it is my 
earnest desire that you should be accomplished in all 
the useful and polite branches of hterature. 

To correspond with men of letters, can not fail of 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 91 

being serviceable to you, provided it does not interfere 
with your more important duties, and to liear their sen- 
timents on particular points may not be amiss ; but you 
are not to forget that your course of studies is under the 
direction, of Dr. Smith, who is, at least, equal to any you 
can correspond with ; who knows what you have learned, 
and what is necessary for you to learn, to be system- 
atical. I enjoin it strongly upon you, therefore, not to 
suffer any opinion or advice of Mr. Z. Lewis, however 
well meant they may be, to divert you from the prose- 
cution of any plan which may be marked out by Dr. 
Smith, or to produce the least hesitation in your mind, 
for no good can come of it, and much evil may. 

It gives me much pleasure to hear that you have got 
a chamber-mate that is agreeable to you. We hope he 
will continue to be so, for your mutual satisfaction and 
benefit. 

The weather has not been intensely hot with us ; at no 
time this summer has the mercury exceeded 90^, and 
but once, and this was on the twenty-fourth of June, has 
it been so liigh. 

If it has been usual for the students of Nassau colles-e 
to go to the balls on the anniversary of the Declaration 
of Independence, I see no reason why you should have 
avoided it, as no innocent amusement or reasonable ex- 
penditure will ever be withheld from you. 

I take it for granted, that your grandmamma and sister 
Nelly (if no more of the family) are writing to you, 
and as they detail more than I can the domestic news, I 
will only subscribe myself, 

Your affectionate, Geo. Washington 

To Mr. G. W. p. Custis. 



92 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

Nassau Hall, July \Uh, 1797. 

Most Honored Sir: I have just received your kind 
favor of the tenth ultimo, together with the enclosed, for 
all of which accept my thanks. I congratulate you upon 
the enjoyment of your health and prospects of future 
felicity, which that you may attain and experience is my 
fervent prayer. 

The gentlemen, whose correspondence I have submit- 
ted to your inspection, are Messrs. Lewis, Law, Lear, and 
Dr. Stuart. With respect to your apprehensions of 
Lewis's advice on subjects which materially affect my 
conduct, I own they are perfectly just, and am happy 
you have suggested them, as they will put me on my 
guard. Our letters are on topics which occasion remarks 
on both sides, and are improving to me alone, as they 
tend to correct style and give fluency to expression. I 
am studying the principles and uses of history in gene- 
ral, in a course of lectures by Priestley, and shall be able 
to apply them to any history so as to make it easy to be 
understood and entertaining. I have also much leisure 
for reading, as the class are studying Eoman antiquities, 
■which I have gone through with the doctor. The fourth 
of July was very grand ; we fired three times sixteen 
rounds from a six-pounder, and had public exliibitions of 
speaking. At night the whole college was beautifully 
illuminated. The ball was instituted by the students, 
and principally attended by them. My ideas of impro- 
lyridy proceeded from a distaste of such things during a 
recess from them, as I was confident all relish for study 
would be lost after such enjoyment ; for there is a differ- 
once between the mind's being entirely taken off from an 
object, to which it can return with increased vigor, and 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 93 

a momentary relapse, which only whets the appetite that 

can not be satiated. 

The thermometer in the sun is 110°, 98° in the shade. 

We wear light clothing, and are permitted to appear 

in morning-gowns. I am at present in want of nothing", 

and perfectly well. With kind remembrances to "11 

my friends and family, I conclude with wishing you 

health, peace, and happiness, the only blessings t].is 

world can bestow and man enjoy, and subscribe my.stlf, 

with sincere affection and duty. 

Yours, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 
George "Washington, Esq. 

V 

Mount Vernon, 2M July, 1797. 

Dear Washington : Your letter of the 14th instant has 
been duly received, and gives us pleasure to hear that 
you enjoy good health, and are progressing well in your 
studies. 

Far be it from me to discourage your correspondence 
with Dr. Stuart, Mr. Law, or Mr. Lewis, or indeed with 
any others, as well-disposed and capable as I believe 
they are to give you specimens of correct writing, proper 
subjects, and if it were necessary, good advice. 

With respect to your epistolary amusements gene- 
rally, I had nothing further in view than not to let them 
interfere with your studies, which were of more interest- 
ing concern; and with regard to Mr. Z. Lewis, I only 
meant that no suggestions of his, if he had proceeded to 
give them, were to be interposed to the course pointed 
out by Dr. Smith, or suffered to weaken your confidence 
therein. Mr. Lewis was educated at Yale college, and 
as is natural, may be prejudiced in favor of the mode 



94 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

pursued at that seminary ; but no college has turned out 
better scholars, or more estimable characters, than Nas- 
sau. Nor is there any one whose president is thought 
more capable to direct a proper system of education than 
Dr. Smith ; for which reason, if Mr. Lewis, or any other, 
was to prescribe a different course from the one you are 
engaged in by the direction of Dr. Smith, it would give 
me concern. Upon the plan you propose to conduct 
your correspondence, none of the evils I was fearful of 
can happen, while advantages may result ; for composi- 
tion, hke other things, is made more perfect by practice 
and attention, and just criticism thereon. 

I do not hear you mention anything of geography or 
mathematics as parts of your study ; both these are ne- 
cessary branches of useful knowledge. Nor ought you to 
let your knowledge of the Latin language and grammati- 
cal rules escape you. And the French language is now 
so universal, and so necessary with foreigners, or in a 
foreign country, that I think you would be injudicious 
not to make yourself master of it. 

You certainl}^ do not observe the degree of heat by 
Farenheit's thermometer, or it must be in a very hot 
exposure if you do ; for at no time this summer has 
the mercury been above 90°, or at most 91°, at this 
place ; and I should think Princeton must be as cool at 
least as Mount Vernon, being nearly two degrees north 
of it. 

Your mamma went from here (with your sister Nelly) 
to Hope Park, on Wednesday, and is as well as usual. 
Your sister Law and child, were well on that day; and 
Mr.,' Mrs., and Eleanor Peter are all well at this place 
now, and having many others in the house, among whom 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 95 

are Mr. Volney and Mr. William Morris. I shall only 

add, that I am sincerely and affectionately, 

Yours, G. Washington. 

Mr. G. W. P. CusTis. 

Nassau Hall, July 30th, 1797. 

Dearest Sir: It is with pleasm^e I acknowledge the 
receipt of your obliging favor of the 23d ultimo, and 
must congratulate you upon the enjoyment of your 
health, the preservation of which should always be our 
aim, and I have no doubt, as long as you are able to 
take your accustomed exercise that you will be perfectly 
well. 

Mr. Z. Lewis has kept up the correspondence. His 
letters have generally contained common-place remarks 
on different subjects. His plans, were he to suggest any, 
would have very little weight with me, and would not 
tend to counteract those of Doctor Smith, I assure you. 
As to the other gentlemen, I am well convinced they 
would merely suggest, and not pretend to influence me 
in any pursuit pointed out by him. 

With respect to the study of geography, I had forgot- 
ten that you were unacquainted with the course of the 
class, or I should have mentioned it particularly. We 
are now engaged in geography and English grammar, 
both of which we shall nearly conclude this session. 
The senior class will leave college in about a fortnight, 
when we shall become junior or second class, not in 
studies, as we do not commence mathematics till next 
session. The time appears to glide away imperceptibly. 
This session wants but eight weeks of being out. 

It was with heartfelt satisfaction I read that Buonaparte 
had sued for the liberation of the marquis, and sincerely 



96 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN ' 

hope poor Mr. Lafayette may have some authentic ac- 
comits concerning the same, which will, no doubt, afford 
liim great relief in his present state of suspense/^ 

The weather has become more moderate. I have no 
news to tell yon, except that Greenleaf is in jail and 
likely to remain there. 

Prusent my love to the family, and be assured, dearest 
cjr, that bound by ties indissoluble in themselves, and 
sacied to me, I remain. 

Your dutiful and affectionate, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 

/ Mount Vernon, 2%th August, 1797. 

Dear Washington: Your letter of the 21st instant, 
came to hand by the last post, and as usual, gave us 
pleasure to hear that you enjoyed good health, were 
progressing well in your studies, and that you were in 
the road to promotion. 

The senior class having left, or being on the point of 
leaving college, some of them with great echt, ought to 
provoke strong stimulus to those who remain, to acquire 
equal reputation, which is no otherwise to be done than 
by perseverance and close application ; in neither of 
which I hope you will be found deficient. 

Not knowing the precise time that the vacation com- 
mences, I have put under cover with this letter to Doctor 
Smith, forty dollars to defray the exjoenses of your jour- 
ney ; and both your grandmamma and myself desire that 
you will not think of doing it by water, as the passage 

* The Marquis de Lafayette suffered much during the storm of the old French 
Revolution. He was compelled to flee from his country, but being arrested, was 
for three years in prison in a dungeon at Olmutz, in Germany. His son, George 
Washington Lafayette, above alluded to, came to America, and found a home in 
the family of Washington, at Mount Vernon, until his father was set at liberty. 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 97 

may not only be verij tedious, but subject to a variety of 
accidents, to which a journey by land is exempt ; and as 
the yellow fever is announced from authority to be in 
Philadelphia, we enjoin it on you strictly to pursue the 
route, and the direction which you may receive from the 
president of the college, to avoid the inconveniences and 
consequences which a different conduct might involve 
you and others in. 

Although I persuade myself that there is no occasion 
for the admonition, yet I exhort you to come with a 
mind steadfastly resolved to return precisely at the time 
allotted, that it may be guarded against those ideas and 
allurements which unbend it from study, and cause re- 
luctance to return to it again. Better remain where you 
are than suffer impressions of this sort to be imbibed 
from a visit, however desirous that visit may be to you, 
and pleasing to your friends, who will prefer infinitely 
your permanent good, to temporary gratifications ; but 
I shall make all fears of this sort yield to a firm persua- 
sion, that every day convinces you more and more of the 
propriety and necessity of devoting your youthful days 
in the acquirement of that knowledge which will be ad- 
vantageous, grateful, and pleasing to you in maturer 
years, and may be the foundation of your usefulness 
here, and happiness hereafter. 

Your grandmamma (who is prevented writing to you 

by General Spotswood and family's being here) has been 

a good deal indisposed by swelling on one side of her face, 

but it is now much better. The rest of the family within 

doors are all well, and all unite in best regards for you, 

with your sincere friend, and affectionate, 

G. Washington. 
Mr. G. Washington Custis. 



98 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

The correspondence for the year 1797 here closed. 
"We next find a letter from Washmgton to Mr. McDowell, 
president of St. John's college, Annapolis. We know not 
why Mr. Custis was removed from Princeton. 

, Mount Vernon, hth March, 1798. 

Sir: Consequent upon a letter received from Mr. 
George Calvert recently, this letter will be presented to 
you by Doctor Stuart, who is so obliging as to accom- 
pany young Mr. Custis to Annapalis for the purpose of 
placing him at college under your auspices, and making 
such arrangements respecting his boarding and the pre- 
cise line of conduct for him to observe, and such course 
of studies as you and he (the temper and genius of the 
youth being considered) shall conceive most eligible for 
him to pursue. 

Mr. Custis possesses competent talents to fit him for 
any studies, but they are counteracted by an indolence 
of mind, which renders it difficult to draw them into 
action. Doctor Stuart having been an attentive observer 
of this, I shall refer you to him for the development of 
the causes, while justice from me requires I should add, 
that I know of no vice to which this inertness can be at- 
tributed. From drinking and gaming he is perfectly 
free, and if he has a propensity to any other impropriety 
it is hidden from me. He is generous and regardful ol 
truth. 

As his family, fortune, and talents (if the latter can be 
improved), give him just pretensions to become a useful 
member of society in the councils of his country, his 
friends, and none more than myself, are extremelj^ desir- 
ous that his education should be liberal, polished, and 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 99 

suitable for this end ; any suggestions to promote these 

views will be thankfully received. Whatever is agreed 

upon by Doctor Stuart in my behalf, with relation to 

Mr. Custis, will meet the approbation of, and be complied 

with by, sir, your most obedient humble servant, 

G. "Washington. 
Mr. McDowell, 

President of the College at Annapolis. 

Annapolis, March I2th, 1798. 
Dearest Sir : I arrived here in due season, after a verv 
agreeable journey, and found all my relations well, and 
Annapolis a very pleasant place. I visited the princijDal 
inhabitants while the doctor was here, and found them 
all very kind. Mr. McDowell is a very good and agree- 
able man. He has examined me, and I am now pursuing 
the study of Natural Philosophy, and hope to distinguish 
myself in that branch as well as others. Arithmetic I 
have reviewed, and shall commence French immediately 
with the professor here. I was so fortunate as to get in 
with a Mrs. Brice, a remarkably clever woman, with whom 
I live very well and contented. There are several clever 
young men boarding in this house, with whom I asso- 
ciate on the most friendly terms. The mail is going 
out, and I have only to add, that I constantly bear in 
mind your virtuous precepts, and hope to benefit by 
them, and am most sincerely and affectionately your 

dutiful, G. W. P. Custis. 

George "Washington, Esq. 

Mount Vernon, l^tK March, 1798. 
Dear Washington: Your letter of the 12th instant 
has been received ; and it gives me and your friends 



100 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

here much pleasure to find that you are agreeably 
fixed, and disposed to prosecute your studies with zeal 
and alacrity. 

Let these continue to be your primary objects and 
pursuits ; all other matters at your time of life are of 
secondary consideration. For it is on a well-grounded 
knowledge of these, your respectability in maturer age, 
your usefulness to your country, and, indeed, your own 
private gratification, when you come seriously to reflect 
upon the importance of them, will depend. The wise 
man, you know, has told us (and a more useful lesson 
never was taught) that there is a time for all iJiings ; and 
now is the time for laying in such a stock of erudition as 
will effect the purposes I have mentioned. And above 
all things, I exhort you to pursue the course of studies 
that Mr. McDowell, of whom every one, as well as your- 
self, speaks highly, has or shall mark out as the most 
ehgible path to accomplish the end. It is from the ex- 
perience and knowledge of preceptors that youth is to 
be advantageously instructed. K the latter are to mark 
out their own course, there would be little or no occa- 
sion for the former, and what would be the consequence 
it, is not difficult to predict. 

One or other of the family Avill expect to receive a 
letter from you once a fortnight, that we may know how 
you are in healtii ; in addition to which, I shall expect to 
hear how you are progressing in your studies, as time 
advances. All here join in best wishes for you, among 
whom, your sister Peter is of the number ; and you may 
be assured of the friendship of your affectionate, 

G. Washington. 

Mr. G. W. P. CusTis. 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 101 

Annapolis, April 2d, 1798. 

Deaeest Sir: Your letter arrived b}^ the ordinary 
course of mail, which goes by Baltimore, and gave me 
sincere pleasure hearing you and the family were in 
good health. 

I was somewhat unwell for some time after coming 

o 

here, owing to the water, but it is entirely removed now. 
I am going on with the class in college and attending 
the French master, who is, I believe, very competent. 
Every week we write dissertations on various subjects, 
which are both amusing and instructive, and create laud- 
able emulation. 

I am very happily situated, perhaps better than many 
others ; and could a repetition of those sentiments I have 
always avowed express my gratitude and obligations to 
you, they should be here expressed ; but it is sufficient 
that they are indelibly engraven on my mind, and can 
never be erased while the principles on which they are 
grounded exist. These principles are innate. What 
could be a greater misfortune to me than your displeas- 
ure ! What a greater happiness than your confidence ! 

I find that young M. C. has been at Mount Vernon, 
and report says, to address my sister. It may be well to 
subjoin an opinion, which I believe is general in this 
place, viz., that he is a young man of the strictest probity 
and morals, discreet without closeness, temperate with- 
out excess, and modest without vanity; possessed of 
those amiable qualities and friendship which are so com- 
mendable, and with few of the vices of the age. In 
short, I think it a most desirable match, and wish that it 
inay take place with all my heart. 

I have received e^ery kindness from the citizens of 



I 



102 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN » 

Annapolis, and could anything heighten my opinion of 
your character, it would be their expressions of esteem 
and regard. Adieu, dearest sir, and believe me sincerely 
and affectionately yours, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 
George "Washington, Esq. 

Mount Vernon, 15th April, 1798. 

Dear Washington : Your letter of the 2d instant came 
duly to hand, and gave us pleasure (as you may 
naturally conceive from our solicitude foi your well- 
doing) at hearing that you had got over a short in- 
disposition; was hajDpy in your present situation; and 
going on well in your studies. Prosecute these with 
diligence and ardor, and you will, sometune hence, be 
more sensible than now of the rich harvest you will 
gather from them. 

It gave us pleasure, also, to hear that you are kindly 
treated by the families in Annapolis. Endeavor by a 
prudent, modest, and discreet conduct, to merit a con- 
tinuance of it, but do not suffer attentions of this sort to 
withdraw you from your primary pursuits. 

Young Mr. C came here about a fortnight ago to 

dinner, and left us next morning after breakfast. If his 
object was such as you say has been reported, it was not 
declared here ; and therefore, the less is said upon the 
subject, particularly by your sister's friends, the more 
prudent it will be until the subject develops itself more. 

The family at this place are much as usual; your 
sister Peter, and her children are here, and Mr. Peter 
occasionally so. Dr. Stuart is also here at present, and 
informs us that your mother and the family (one of your 
sisters excepted) are very well. Mr. Law has been here, 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 103 

and leaving Mrs. Law at Baltimore, went back for her, 

and is not returned that we have heard of. This is all 

the domestic news which occurs to nie ; and, therefore, 

with every good wish of those I have enumerated, and 

particularly the blessings of your grandmamma, 

I remain, your sincere friend, and affectionate, 

G. "Washington. 
To Mr. Washington Custis. 

Annapolis, 3fay 5th, 1798. 

Dearest Sir : Colonel Fitzgerald arrived here about an 
hour ago, and has politely offered to convey a letter to 
you. Nothing material has occurred since my last letter, 
only that we now attend college at six in the morning, 
which is by no means disagreeable, and conduces to 
health. 

With respect to what I mentioned of Mr. C in 

my last, I had no other foundation but report, which has 
since been contradicted. All the famihes in this town in 
which I visit, express the highest esteem and veneration 
for your character, which conduces, in great measure, to 
the satisfaction I feel in their company. 

All is well at present. I have found no inconvenience 
lately from the water, which affected me at first. I at- 
tend college regularly, and am determined that nothing 
shall alienate my attention. 

Adieu, dearest sir, may heaven proportion her reward 
to your merit, is the sincere and ardent prayer of, 

Geo. W. p. Custis. 

P. S. — I would thank you to inform me to whom I am 
to apply for money in case of want. 
Geo. Washington, Esq. 



\ 



104 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

Mount Veknon, 10;!^ 31ay, 1798. 

Dear Washington : Your letter by Colonel Fitzgerald* 
lias been received, and I shall confine my reply, at pres- 
ent, to the query contained in the postscrij^t, viz., "to 
"whom I am to apply for money in case of need." 

This has the appearance of a very early application, 
when it is considered that you were provided very plenti- 
fully, it was conceived, with necessaries of all sorts when 
you left this (two months ago only) ; had £4. 6. given 
to you by me, and £3. 0. 0. by Doctor Stuart, as charged 
in his account against me (equal together to between 
9 and 10 lbs. Maryland currency) ; had a trunk purchased 
for you, a quarter's board paid in advance, &c. Except 
for your washing, and books when necessary, I am at a 
loss to discover what has given rise to so early a ques- 
tion. Surely you have not conceived that indulgence in 
dress or other extravagances are matters that were ever 
contemplated by me as objects of expense ; and I hope 
they are not so by you. As then the distance between 
this and Annapolis is short, and the communication (by 
post) easy, regular, and safe, transmit the accounts of 
such expenses as are necessary, to me, in your letters, 
and a mode shall be devised for prompt and punctual 
payment of them. And let me exhort you, in solemn 
terms, to keep steadily in mind the purposes and the end 
for which you were sent to the seminary you are now 
placed at, and not disappoint the hopes which have been 
entertained from your going thither, by doing which, 
you will ensure the friendship, &c., of, 

G. "Washington. 

To Mr. Geo. W. P. Custis. 

* Colonel Fitzgerald had been one of Washington's fiivorite aids 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 105 

Annapolis, May 2G, 1798. 

Dearest Sir : Your last letter arrived safely, and con- 
veyed the pleasing intelligence of your health, a theme 
always acceptable to my grateful heart. With respect 
to my expenses I did not mean to insinuate that I was 
actually in want, but supposed you had placed money in 
the hands of some one to whom I might apply. I have 
opened accounts with a shoemaker, tailor, and other per- 
sons from whom I might want occasional articles, which 
shall all be transmitted to you when offered. I got some 
nankeen and a gingham coat, which, together, with a hat, 
are all the necessary articles I wanted; the hat might 
have lasted longer had it not been a worthless one. I 
have been very careful of my clothes, and frequently re- 
vise them myself 

I now enter on a subject which I will endeavor to 
make plain. Far from being addicted to dress and ex- 
travagance, I am not fond of such things, and have not 
spent money in that w^ay. I confess, that when I have 
friends at my own house, I like to entertain them with 
little superfluities, but farther, I sacredly deny any dissi- 
pation. I visit of an evening among some families, but 
never dine out except on Sunday. I have received that 
attention from the inhabitants of this town which claims 
my sincere regard, and shall endeavor by my conduct to 
merit their esteem. General Stone's j)oliteness to me 
has been particular. 

Nothing material has occurred since my last. I atr 
tend to my French constantly, with a good teacher, and 
hope to acquire the pronunciation. Adieu, dear sir, and 
believe me, ever dutifully and intrinsically yours, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 

Geo. Washington, Esq. 



106 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

V Mount Vernon, 13th June, 1798. 

Dear Washington : It is now near five weeks since any 
person of this family has heard from you, though you 
were requested to write once a fortnight. Knowing how 
apt your grandmamma is to suspect that you are sick, or 
that some accident has happened to you, how could you 
omit this ? 

I have said that none of us have heard from you, hut 
it behooves me to add, that from persons in Alexandria, 
lately from Annapolis, I have, with much surprise, been 
informed of your devoting much time, and paying much 
attention, to a certain young lady of that place. Know- 
ing that conjectures are often substituted for facts, and 
idle reports are circulated without foundation, we are not 
disposed to give greater credence to these than what 
arises from a fear that your application to books is not 
such as it ought to be, and that the hours that might be 
more profitably employed at your studies are mispent in 
this manner. 

Recollect again the saying of the wise man, " There is 

a time for all things," and sure I am, this is not a time 

for a bo^ of your age to enter into engagements which 

ndght end in sorrow and repentance. 

Yours affectionately, 

G. Washington. 
Mr. G. W. P. CusTis. 

Maklborough, June 17th, 1798. 
Dearest Sir : I received your letter by mamma at this 
place, where I had come on my uncle's horses, and with 
Mr. McDowell's permission, in hopes of meeting hen 
She arrived the same day that I did, and informed me 
particularly respecting the siihj'ect of j^our letter, which 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 107 

appeared to set heavy on your mind. The report, as 
mamma tells me, of my being engaged to the young lady 
in question, is strictly erroneous. That I gave her rea- 
son to believe in my attachment to her, I candidly allow, 
but that I would enter into engagements inconsistent with 
my duty or situation, I hope your good opinion of me 
will make you disbelieve. That I stated to her my j^ros- 
pects, duty, and dependance upon the absolute will of 
my friends, I solemnly affirm. That I solicited her affec- 
tion, and hoped, with the approbation of my family, to 
bring about a union at some future day, I likewise allow. 
The conditions were not accepted, and my youth being 
alleged by me as an obstacle to the consmnmation of 

, my wishes at the present time (which was farthest from 

j my thoughts), I withdrew, and that on fair and honorable 

I terms, to the satisfaction of my friends. 

Thus the matter ended, and should never have pro- 

i ceeded so far had I not been betrayed by my own feel- 

; ings. However rash and imprudent I may be, I have 
always remembered my duty and obligation to you, 
which is the guide of my actions. It was this which 

[ prevented my entering into any engagements which 
were not entirely conditional. 

I To my mother I disclosed the whole affair, who is now 
perfectly satisfied ; and I hope this small statement of 
facts, which I can confirm, either upon oath or the testi- 
mony of my friends, will eradicate all uneasiness from 
your mind. 

Let me once more, sir, on the shrine of gratitude, 
plight my faith to you ; let me unclasp the sacred books 
of morality and lay my duty, nay, my all, at your feet. 
Your beneficence coidd not enhance your virtues ; on my 



108 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

heart they are engraven as the benefactor, the friend, 

nay, the more than father of, 

G. W. P. CusTis. 
Geokge "Washington, Esq. 

Mount Vkrnon, 13th June, 1798. 

Sir : An ardent wish that young Custis shoukl apply 

cbsely to his studies, and conduct himself with propriety 

under your auspices, induces me to give you the trouble 

of receiving these inquiries, and to know if he is in want 

of anything that can be provided for him by, sir, 

Your obedient and humble servant, 

Geo. Washington. 
Mr. McDowell. 

Annapolis, July \2th, 1798. 
Dearest Sir: Not receiving any favor from you in 
answer to my last, and only a letter from Doctor Stuart, 
in which he questions but little concerning the affair 
which caused you so much anxiety, induces me to hope 
that both my confession of the circumstances of the case, 
and my error, has obliterated from your mind all un- 
favorable impressions. Confiding in this hope, I again 
submit myself to your confidence, and assure you, that 
■ though urged by imprudence, I was governed by duty — 
that duty which I shall hold sacred in all my walks of 
life ; and let the goodness of my heart but cover the im- 
prudence of my actions, and I am contented. My peace 
of mind, my consciousness of rectitude, will always be to 
me a sufficient plea for my actions ; and be assured, dear- 
est sir, nothing can contribute more to both than your 
favor. 

I have nearly finished the six books of Euclid, and ex- 
pect that college will adjourn in a fortnight. I can col- 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 109 

lect and forward all accounts as soon as you shall think 
fit to call for the same, and I hope that their reasonable- 
ness will be acceptable to you. 

I need not congratulate you on an appointment* which 
was always designed by the Creator for one so fully 
capable of fulfilling it. Let an admiring world again be- 
hold a Cincinnatus springing up from rural retirement to 
the conquest of nations; and the future historian, in 
erasing so great a name, insert that of the " Father of his 
coimtrf/y 

Remember me to all, and believe me sincerely, duti^ 

fully, and affectionately yours, 

Geo. W. p. Custis. 
Gen. Geo. Washington. 

The letter immediately preceding the following was 
not found in the package. 

Annapolis, July 21st, 1798. 
Dearest Sir: By the returning mail I heartily ac- 
knowledge your last favor, and am sincerely hajDpy in 
having given you full satisfaction in an affair so interest- 
ing, and mutually affecting to both my friends and my- 
self. I this day finish the six books of Euclid, and with 
that, the course marked out for me while in Annapolis. 
College breaks up Monday week (the 30th), and I shall 
always be ready when you may send for me. I shall 
enclose my accounts by next post, so as to be ready to 
leave this as soon as convenient. I would thank you to 
inform me whether I leave it entirely, or not, so that I 
may pack up accordingly. With sincere affection to all 
friends I bid you adieu, 

G. W. P. Custis. 

* As commander-in-chief of the provisional army of the United States. 



110 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

Mount Vernon, 2ith July, 1798. 

Dear Washington : Your letter of the 21st was received 
last night. The question, " I would thank you to inform 
me whether I leave it entirely, or not, so that I may pack 
up accordingly," really astonishes me ! for it would seem 
as if noiJdng I could say to you made more than a mO' 
mentarij impression. Did I not, before you went to that 
seminary, and since by letter, endeavor to fix indelibly 
on your mind, that the object for which you were sent 
there was to finish a course of education which you your- 
self were to derive the benefit of hereafter, and for pres- 
sing which upon you, you would be the first to thank 
your friends so soon as reason has its proper sway in the 
direction of your thoughts ? 

As there is a regular stage between Annapolis and the 
federal city, embrace that as the easiest and most con- 
venient way of getting to the latter, from whence Mr. 
Law or Mr. Peter will, I have no doubt, send you hither; 
or a horse might meet you there, or at Alexandria, at an 
appointed time. 

The family are well ; and I am, as usual, your aftec- 
tionate, 

G. Washington. 

To Mr. G. W. p. Custis. 

Annapglis./m/^ 23, 1798. 
Dearest Sir : Since my last I have collected all my ac- 
counts, which I transmit for your perusal. The only 
article I apologize for is an umbrella, which I was un- 
avoidably obliged to procure, as I lost one belonging t(» 
a gentleman. College breaks up on Saturday, and I 
shall be ready at any time that you may send. I will 
look over everything belonging to me and have them 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. Ill 

adjusted. I am very well, and at variance with no one, 
so that I shall leave this place just as I first entered it. 
Believe me, dearest sir, sincerely and affectionately 



yours, 

Geo. Washington, Esq. 



Geo. W. p. Custis. 



Mount Vernon, 30th July, 1798. • 
Sir : Being very much engaged of late in a manner I 
little expected, I have not only suffered your favor of the 
19th instant to remain unacknowledged, but not attending 
to the time of the vacation of St. John's college, I have 
suffered that also to arrive, or to approach too near for 
the enclosed remittances to defray the expenses of Mr. 
Custis, before it is probable he left Annapolis. 

Allow me the liberty, for this reason, to put the ac- 
counts which he has just transmitted to me, under cover 
to you, with bank-notes of Columbia for one hundred 
dollars, to discharge and take a receipt thereon, to be re- 
turned to me. 

The pressure which is upon me at this time will not 
allow me to say anything relatively to the course of 
studies marked out for Mr. Custis when he returns to 
college. I will write more fully to you on this subject 
at a future time. Sir, I remain, your most obedient, 

G. Washington. 
To Mr. McDowell. 

i Mount Vernon, 2d September, 1798 

^ Sm: Your favor of the 13th ultimo, with the accounts, 
came duly to hand, and I thank you for the trouble you 
have had in paying and taking receipts therefor. The 
small balance of £„ 3. 5^ may, if you please, be given to 
Mr. Custis. 



112 CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN 

It was my intention to have written fully to you by 
the return of this young gentleman to college, but the 
debilitated state into which I have been thrown by a 
fever, with which I was seized on the 18th, and could 
procure no remission of until the 25th past, renders 
writing equally irksome and improper. 

Were the case otherwise, I should, I confess, be at a 
loss to point out any precise course of study for Mr. 
Custis. My views, with respect to him, have already 
been made known to you, and, therefore, it is not neces^ 
sary to repeat them on this occasion. It is not merely 
the best course for him to pursue that requires a con- 
sideration, but such an one as he can be induced to pur- 
sue, and will contribute to his impr£)vement and the ob- 
ject in view. In directing the first of these objects, a 
gentleman of your literary discernment and knowledge 
of the world, would be at no loss, without any suggestions 
of mine, if there was as good a disposition to receive, as 
there are talents to acquire knowledge ; but as there 
seems to be in this youth an unconquerable indolence of 
temper, and a dereliction, in fact, to all study, it must 
rest with you to lead him in the best manner, and by the 
easiest modes you can devise, to the study of such useful 
acquirements as may be serviceable to himself, and event- 
ually beneficial to his country. 

French, from having become in a manner the universal 
language, I wish him to be master of, but I do not find, 
from inquiry, that he has made much progress in the study 
.yet. Some of the practical branches of mathematics, par- 
ticularly surveying, he ought, possessor as he is of large 
landed property, to be well acquainted Avith, as he may 
have frequent occasion for the exercise of that study. 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 113 

I have already exceeded the hmit I had prescribed to 
myself when I began this letter, but I will trespass yet a 
little more, while I earnestly entreat that you will ex- 
amine him, as often as you can make it convenient, 3^our- 
self; and u J.nonish him seriously of his omissions and de- 
fects ; and pre^^ent, as much as it can be done, without too 
rigid a restraint, a devotion of his time to visitations of 
the families in Annapolis ; which, when carried to excess, 
or beyond a certain point, can not but tend to divert his 
mind from study, and. lead his thoughts to very different 
objects. Above all, let me request, if you should per- 
ceive any appearance of his attaching himself, by visits 
or otherwise, to any young lady of that place, that you 
would admonish him against any such step, on account 
of his youth and incapability of appreciating all the re- 
quisites for a connexion which, in the common course of 
things, can terminate with the death of one of the parties 
only; and, if done without effect, to advise me thereof 
If, in his reading, he was to make common-place notes, 
as is usual, copy them fair and show them to you, two 
good purposes w^ould be answered by it. You would see 
with what judgment they were done, and it might tend 
much to improve his hand-writing, which requires nothing 
but care and attention to render it good. At present, 
all of his writing that I have seen is a hurried scrawl, as 
if to get to the end speedily, was the sole object of writing. 

With sincerest esteem and regard, I am, sir, your obe- 
dient servant, 

Geo. Washington. '^ 

P. S. — Knowledge of book-keeping is essential to all 
who are under the necessity of keeping accounts. 
Mr. McDowell. 

8 



J 



114 CORRESPO^'DENCE BETWEEN 

; Mount Vernon, I6lh Septemher, ]798. 

Sir : The enclosed was written at the time of its date, 
and, with Mr. Custis, I expected would have left this the 
next morning for St. John's college ; but although he pro- 
fessed his readiness to do whatever was required of him, 
his unwillingness to return was too apparent to afford 
any hope that good would result from it in the prosecu- 
tion of his studies. And, therefore, as I have now a gen- 
tleman living with me who has abilities adequate thereto, 
wall have sufficient leisure to attend to it, and has prom- 
ised to do so accordingly, I thought best, upon the whole, 
to keep him here. 

He returns to Annapolis for the purpose of bringing 
back with him such articles as he left there, and dis- 
charging any accounts which may have remained unpaid. 
With great esteem and regard, I am, sir, your most obe- 
dient servant, G. Washington. 

Mr. McDowell. 

Mount Vernon, January 22, 1799. 

Dear Sir : Washington leaves this to-day on a visit to 
Hope Park,* which will afford you an opportunity to ex- 
amine the progress he has made in the studies he was 
directed to pursue. 

I can, and I believe I do, keep him in his room a cer- 
tain portion of the twenty-four hours, but it will be im- 
possible for me to make him attend to his books, if in- 
clination on his part is wanting; nor while I am out if he 
chooses to be so, is it in my power to prevent it. I will 
not say this is the case, nor will I run the hazard of do- 
ing him injustice, by saying he does not apply as he 
ought to what has been prescribed, but no risk will be 

* The residence of his mother's family. 



WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 115 

rim, and candor requires I should declare it as my opin- 
ion, that he will not derive much benefit in any course 
wliich can be marked out for him at this place, without 
an able preceptor always with him. 

What is best to be done with him I know not. My 
opinion always has been, that the university in Massa- 
chusetts would have been the most eligible seminary to 
have sent him to ; first, because it is on a larger scale 
than any other ; and, secondly, because I believe that the 
habits of the youth there, whether from the discipline of 
the school, or the greater attention of the people gen- 
erally to morals, and a more regular course of life, are 
less prone to dissipation and excess than they are at the 
colleges south of it. It may be asked, if this was my 
opinion, why did I not send him there ? The answer is 
as short as to me it was weighty : being the only male of 
his line, and knowing (although it would have been sub- 
mitted to) that it would have proved a heart-rending 
stroke to have him at that distance, I was disposed to 
try a nearer seminary, of good repute, which, from some 
cause, or combination of causes, has not, after the experi- 
ment of a year, been found to answer the end that was 
contemplated. Whether to send him there now, or, in- 
deed, to any other public school, is, indeed, problematical, 
and to mispend his time at tliis place would be disgrace- 
ful to himself and me. 

If I were to propose to him to go to the university at 
Cambridge, in Massachusetts, he might, as has been usual 
for him on like occasions, say, he would go wherever I 
chose to send him, but if he should go, contrary to his 
inclination, and without a disposition to apply himself 
properly, an expense without any benefit would result 



116 WASHINGTON AND CUSTIS. 

from the measure. Knowing how much I have been dis- 
appointed, and my mind disturbed by his conduct, he 
would not, I am sure, make a candid disclosure of his 
sentiments to me on this or any other plan I might puo 
pose for the completion of his education, for which rear 
son, I would pray that you (or perhaps Mrs. Stuart could 
succeed better than any one) would draw from him a 
frank and explicit disclosure of what his own wishes and 
views are ; for, if they are absolutely fixed, an attempt 
to counteract them by absolute control would be as idle 
as the endeavor to stop a rivulet that is constantly run- 
ning. Its progress, while mound upon mound is erected, 
may be arrested, but this must have an end, and every- 
thing will be swept away by the torrent. The more I 
think of his entering William and Mary, unless he could 
be placed in the bishop's family, the more I am convinced 
of its inutility on many accounts, which had better be 
the subject of oral communication than by letter. I 
shall wish to hear from you on the subject of this letter 
I believe Washington means well, but has not resolution 
to act well. Our kind regards to Mrs. Stuart and family, 
and I am, my dear sir. 

Your obedient and affectionate servant, 

G. Washington. 
David Stuakt, Esq. 

This is the last letter in the packet from which the 
foregoing series have been copied. The correspondence 
exhibits the old story of a youth of genius and fortune 
disappointing the hopes of his friends while at college ; 
and it presents Washington in a new light, as exercising 
the tender solicitude of a parent. 



il 



RECOLLECTIONS AND PRIVATE MEMOIRS 



OF THE 



LIFE AND CHARACTER 



OF 



WASHINGTON. 



1 ' 



EDITOR'S PREFACE. 



It was the privilege of the writer to enjoy the friendship of 
Mr. Custis, the author of the following Recollections of Wash- 
ington^ for several years, and to experience, on frequent occa- 
sions, the hospitalities of Arlington House, his beautiful seat on 
the Potomac, opposite the federal city. The subject of his Rec- 
ollections was a frequent topic of conversation, and the writer 
always expressed an earnest desire tliat Mr. Custis should com- 
plete and prepare for publication, in book form, the interesting 
work begun, many years before, of recording what he knew and 
remembered concerning the private life of Washington, and some 
of his compatriots. But his spirit was summoned from earth 
before that work was completed, and the revision of what was 
already done was left to other hands. 

When invited by the only-surviving child of Mr. Custis to as- 
sist her in preparing his imperfect and unfinished Recollections 
for the press, by arranging them properly and adding illustrative 
and explanatory notes, the writer complied with pleasure, for 
filial gratitude to the Father of his Country seemed to demand the 
dedication of whatever labor might be usefully employed in the 
preservation of precious memorials of that father which had hith- 
erto been left in the perishable form of newspaper articles. 

Many of the facts recorded in this volume have already found 
their way, one by one, into our histories ; but the great mass of 
them will be fresh to every reader, and intrinsically valuable. 

The illustrative and explanatory notes have been prepared 
with the single purpose of instructing', not amusing; and if, to 
the well-informed, many of them shall appear unnecessary, let it 
be remembered that it is only the few who are well informed, 
and that the many need instruction. 

Care has been taken not to alter the text as it flowed from the 
pen of the author, except in the way of verbal corrections, occa- 
sionally, and arrangements of the matter to avoid repetitions as 



120 editor's preface. 

far as practicable — faults -which are incident to the production 
of a series of articles upon a common topic, written at wide in- 
tervals, and from memory. The business of the editor has been 
to arrange and illustrate, according to the dictates of his best 
judgment, the materials placed in his hands by the family of the 
author. 

A few words concerning the history of these Recollections 
may not be without interest. When Lafayette visited the United 
States, in 1824 and 1825, as the guest of the nation, Mr, Custis, 
who had been the intimate companion of the marquis's son, 
George Washington Lafayette (who accompanied him), when at 
Mount Vernon, under the care of Washington, in 1797, spent 
much time with that illustrious man. After his departure, he 
wrote a series of interesting articles under the title of Comber- 
sations with Lafayette. These were published in the Alexan- 
dria Gazette, and attracted much attention. Among those who 
were specially interested in them, was John P. Watson, Esq., 
the now venerable annalist of Philadelphia and New York. He 
wrote to Mr. Custis in September, 1825, urging him to answer 
publicly a series of questions which he proposed to write, and 
which would, if fully answered, " go more," as Mr. Watson said, 
" to develop, as by moral painting, the individual character of 
General and Mrs. Washington, as they appeared in domestic and 
every-day life, than all that had ever been published." 

Mr. Custis answered Mr. Watson's letter a week afterward, 
and assured him that as soon as he had completed his Conversa- 
tions with Lafayette, of which the thirteenth number was just 
then finished, he should commence the publication of Recollec 
tions of Washing- ton in the United States Gazette, printed at 
Philadcilphia — a paper which he had often seen the first presi- 
dent "dry on his knee" as it came fresh from the press. The 
first number, entitled The Mother of Washington, appeared iu 
that paper. The remainder of the series, except two numbers, 
were first publislied in the National Intelligencer. Such, in 
brief, is the history of the origin of these Recollections, as given 
to the writer by the venerable annalist above mentioned, iu 
May, 1859. 

B. J. L. 

PouGUKFEPSiE, August, 1859. 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 



It is the public lives of great men that are commonly 
given to the world ; and with all the glare which may 
dazzle and surprise. It will be the duty of the writer of 
the following pages to withdraw the curtain, and, in some 
vicAVS of the private life of the most illustrious of men, 
to develop such truths as shall be acceptable to the mind 
and heart of every true American. 

Much anxiety always has existed, and always will 
exist, touching the private lives and actions of those who, 
on the public theatre, have played so many, such various, 
and such distinguished parts. It is somewhat remarkable, 
yet such is the fact of history, that when all of the j)ub- 
lic life and actions of a great man have been published 
to the world, the world invariably demands the private 
memoirs. The celebrated Montesquieu once asked an 
English nobleman respecting Sir Isaac Newton : " Pray, 
my lord, does the great Newton eat, drink, and sleep like 
other men ?" 

The interesting and authentic private memoirs of the 
Father of his Country, which form this volume, are de- 
rived from the relations of those who were the associates 
of his juvenile years, his comrades in war, and the friends 
of his fireside in peace. Concerning his domestic habits 
and manners ; the routine of his methodical life ; what 



122 author's preface. 

he said and did, -when he retired from pubHc cares and 
duties, in the evening of his glorious day, I ought to hww 
much. Taken from my orphaned cradle to his paternal 
arms, nourished at his board, cherished in his bosom, from 
childhood to manhood, I ought to know something of the 
First President of the United States, and the illustrious 
Farmer of Mount Vernon, 

I write of him who fills so large a space in the best 
recollections of the world ; whose fame, pure, venerable, 
and time-honored, will descend to the latest posterity, 
hke the ceaseless stream which washes the base of his 
sepulchre, whose majestic course neither rival currents 
can disturb, nor the waste of ages can impair. 

The first paper in the series of these Recollections and 
Private Memoirs of the Life and Character of Washington, 
contains a sketch of The Mother of Washington — that 
distinguished woman, whose peculiar cast of character, 
whose precepts and discipline in the education of her il- 
lustrious son, were by himself acknowledged to have been 
the foundation of his fortune and his fame. 

The principal facts I derived from Lawrence and Robin 
Washington, Esqrs., of Chotank, the associates of the 
chief in early life, at the maternal mansion on the Eap- 
pahannock; and from Bishop, his military servant and 
humble friend in the war of '55-56, who heljDcd him to 
his last horse on the field of Braddock, when death gath- 
ered so many sheaves to the garner, and when, in the 
prophetic words of the Indian commander, in reference 
to Washington, "the Great Spirit protected that man, 
that he might become the Chief of Nations." 

The veteran Bishop died at Mount Vernon at a very 
advanced age, having long been settled in the midst o^ 



AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 123 

his descendants, and with every possible comfort about 
him. It was while sitting upon his knee, in the days of 
my childhood, that I often heard the old man relate the 
events of the Indian wars, and have seen him raise his 
withered arm, while his faded eye lighted up, when de- 
scribing the memorable and heroic achievements of his 
patron and commander. 

From Dr. James Craik, also, whose commission was 
signed on the same day with that of Washington, as pro- 
vincial major, I received many and important facts. He 
and Washington were comrades and fellow-captives at 
the affair of the Meadows, in '55 ; were associated in the 
War of the Revolution, and bosom friends always ; and it 
was the fortune of Craik to receive the Patriot's last sigh 
at Mount Vernon in 1799, after an affectionate inter- 
course of almost half a century. 

The labor of America's distinguished historians have 
given to this country and the world the life and actions 
of Washington, as connected with the age in which he 
flourished, and the mighty events thereof, in which he 
bore so prominent and illustrious a jDart. It has become 
the honored duty of the author of the Recollections to 
hft the veil that always conceals the private life of a great 
man from the public gaze, and to show the Pater Patria3 
amid the shades of domestic retirement, where, in the 
bosom of his family, on the farm, and at his fireside, friend- 
ship, kindliness, and hospitality shed their benignant lus- 
tre upon his latter days. 

Long years have elapsed since the first of these Recol- 
lections were offered to the public. In answer to numer- 
ous inquiries why they have not been pubhshed in book 
form, the author begs leave to observe that, having ne 



124 author's preface. 

views as to profit, he was desirous that the Private 

Memoirs should go to the masses of the people in the 

cheapest and most diffusible manner practicable. 

If it has appeared to any that the Recollections have 

embraced particulars too minute, the author's apology is 

in various letters, received both from at home and abroad, 

urging him to omit no detail, Jioivever minute, or deem anything 

trivial, that related in the smallest degree to the life and character 

of Washington. 

G W. P. C. 

Arlington House, near Alexandria, Va., 1856. 



I 



RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER I 

THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 

The "Washington Family in Virginia — Washington's Early Touth — His MoTni:R'8 
Family — Her Character and Influence — The Home of "Washington — The "Wild 
HoESE — Young "Washington's Truthfulness — His Mother at Fredericksburg — Pic- 
ture OF her Life there — An Alarm in "Wasiongton's Camp — His Mother's Management 
of Affairs — Her Industry, Economy, and Charity — Her Independence — Her fear op 
Lightning — Eeception op "Washington after his "Victory at Tokktown — His Filial 
Eeveeence — Admiration op the Foreign Officers — Lafayette — "Washington's lasi 
Interview with his Mother — Her Death — Her Monument. 

Of the remote ancestors of the chief, our recollections 
Mill, of necessity, be limited. The grea1>grandfather, 
John Washington, came from England (from Chester, it 
is believed) at about the time of the early settlers in the 
northern neck of Virginia, but the place of his first resi- 
dence is unknown, though it has been a matter of con- 
siderable research to his descendants.* 

* He came with his brother Lawrence about the year 1657, and settled near the 
Potomac, between Pope's and Bridge's creeks, in the county of Westmoreland. 
Having a knowledge of military matters, he was employed, soon after his arrival, in 
the command of the militia, against the Indians, with the rank of colonel. He was thus 
employed just previous to the breaking out of the domestic broils in Virginia, known 
in history as Bacon's Rebellion. He married Anne Pope, by whom he had two sons. 
One of these (Lawrence) married Mildred Warner, of Gloucester county, and had 
three children. Her second was Augustine, the father of George Washington. 

The following letter, translated from the German, contains some interesting par- 
ticulars respecting a branch of the Washington family. The letter from General 



126 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Augustine Washington, the father, we find settled near 
Pope's creek, a tributary of the Potomac, in the county of 
Westmoreland, and there the great chief was born, on the 



I 



Washington, to which the writer alludes, may be seen in Sparks's Life ant 
Writings of Washington, vol. xi. p. 393 ; and other particulars concerning the family 
in vol. i. p. 554. James Washington is there mentioned as having been a mer- 
chant in Rotterdam : — 

"Munich, February 21, 1844. 

" Honored Sir : It was not till the 17th of this month that I received your favor j 
of December 13th; I could not, therefore, answer it earlier. In compliance with! 
your wish I will, with pleasure, communicate to you some facts relating to my family. 
The branch from which I am descended has undoubtedly the same ancestor as that 
from which the American branch descended, which is proved also by the same coat- 
of-arms. 

" The family of Washington is descended from a good old English family, which, 
in early times, owned considerable possessions in the counties of York and North- 
ampton, and in other places. It became connected, by marriage, with the family of 
Shirley, Earl Ferrers. Sir Lawrence Washington married Elizabeth, a daughter of 
the second Earl Ferrers. It was also connected with that of Villiers, duke of Buck- 
ingham. A branch of the family, from unknown causes, for they were wealthy, 
emigrated about the year 1650 to America; and the well-known (one may say with 
truth the universally famous) General and President George Washington was de- 
scended from it. 

"My grsat-grandfather, James Washington, was so deeply implicated in the un- 
fortunate affair of the duke of Monmouth, in the time of Charles II., 1683 and 1684, 
that he was obliged to fly from England, and, after losing by shipwreck on the coast 
of Portugal everything of his personal property that he had been able to carry away 
from England, he came to Holland. While there, he was frequently demanded oi> 
the part of England by its ambassador, and his delivery insisted upon; but the States- 
General did not consent ; and thus he became the founder of that branch which 
then began to flourish in Holland, and is still in existence in the persons of two in- 
dividuals, cousins, lieutenants in the army and navy. 

" I possess an autograph letter of the great man, George Wasliington, from Mount 
Vernon, January 20, 1799, in which, among other things, it is said : ' There can be 
but little doubt, sir, of our descending from the same stock, as the branches of it 
proceeded from the same country ; at what time your ancestors left England is noj 
mentioned ; mine came to America nearly one hundred and fifty years ago.' 

"At the age of sixteen I received, in 1794, a commission in the Dutch service, 
but was unwilling to serve the Bavarian republic founded in 1795; and, being a 
faithful follower of the house of Orange, I emigrated. At the formation of the Dutch 
brigade of the Prince of Orange in the English service in 1799, I was appointed 
lieutenant in that brigade, until tlie disbanding of the latter, after the peace of Amiens, 
in 1802. A few months later I had the good fortune to enter the Bavarian serricc 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 127 

eleventh of February (Old style), 1732. This interest- 
ing spot is now marked by a stone, placed there by the 
hand of filial affection and gratitude in 1815.''" 

Since tlien, nearly forty-two years have passed, of which I have been attached no 
less than thirty-seven years to the most high person of the king, partly as marshal 
of tlie court, and partly as aid-de-camp. 

"I iiave also planted a stock in Bavaria, which, if God will, is some time to bear 
good frnit to the king and country. I have three sons : the eldest, Ludwig, sixteen 
years old, is a page of his majesty the king ; the second. Max, fourteen years old, 
is pui)il in the royal corps of cadets ; and the third, Karl, ten years old, frequents 
the pnbhc school. By my two marriages with daughters of families of the highest 
nobility in the land, my children are placed in agreeable circumstances, even when 
I shall be no more ; and, in this manner, this branch of the family in this new country 
may flourish. God give his blessing to it ! 

"It would lead me too far to enter into details of my biography; for, being in 
earlier years frequently exposed to the storms of fate, brought on chiefly by revolu- 
tions, and at a later period in important offices and other relations, I could not do it 
without being very long; and, since this letter has already attained a considerable 
extent, that wliich has been said will, I hope, satisfy you. I will only add, in order 
that you may become altogether acquainted with ray situation here, that I will sub- 
join to the signature of my name what is otherwise not usual ; but in this case, I 
think, may make an exception, because it forms in a manner a part of my biography. 

" Thanking you for the literary production transmitted to me, which possesses, 
by the preface of the renowned Professor Herman, an enhanced value, I remain, 
with sentiments of perfect esteem, your devoted, 

"Baron Von Washington. 
" Royal Bavarian Chamberlain, Lieutenant- General and Aid-de- Camp to his Majesty the 

King, Commander of the Order of Civil Merit of the Bavarian Croivn, of the Greek 

Order of the Saviour, of the British Military Order of the Bath, Knight of the Royal 

French Order of the Legion of Honor, and Lord of Notzing. 
\ "To Dr. J. G. Fluzel, 
I " Consul of the U. S. of N. America, in Leipsic." 

* In a letter to the editor of the Alexandria Gazette, dated Arlington house, Apr"l 
14, 1851, Mr. Custis gave the following interesting account of the placing of that 
j memorial stone, with his own hands, upon the spot where stood the birthplace of 
^ Washington : — 

j " Observing in your valuable journal, of a late date, the notice of a stone placed 
Ion the ruins of the house in which the beloved Washington first saw the light, per- 
'mit me to offer to you a brief account of that interesting event, as itoccured six-and- 
• thirty years ago. 

I "In June, 1815, I sailed on my own vessel, the 'Lady of the Lake,' a fine top- 
jsiul schooner of ninety tons, accompanied by two gentlemen, Messrs. Lewis and 



128 EECOLLECTIOIsS OF WASHINGTON. 

Upon the father becoming engaged in the agency of 
the Principe iron-works, and after the conflagration of his 

Grimes, bound to Pope's creek, in the county of Westmoreland, carrying with us a 
slab of freestone, having the following inscription :* — 

nERE 

THE llTH OF FEBRUARY, 1732, (Old Style,) 

GEORGE WASHINGTON 

WAS BORN. 

Our pilot approached the Westmoreland shore cautiously (as our vessel drew nearly 

eiHit feet of water), and he was but indifferently acquainted with so unfrequented a 

navitraiion. 

" We anchored some distance from the land, and, taking to our boats, we soon 
reached the mouth of Pope's or Bridge's creek, and proceeding upward we fell in with 
McKenzie Beverly, Esq., and several gentlemen composing a fishing party, and also 
with the overseer of the property- that formed the object of our visit. We were kindly 
received by these individuals, and escorted to the spot, where a few scattered bricks 
alone marked the birthplace of the chief. 

" Desirous of making the ceremonial of depositing the stone as imposing as circum- 
stances would permit, we enveloped it in the ' star-spangled banner' of our country, 
and it was borne to its resting-place in the arms of the descendants of four revolu- 
tionary patriots and soldiers — Samuel Lew^s, son of George Lewis, a captain in 
Baylor's regiment of horse, and nejjhew of Washington ; William Grymes, the 
son of Benjamin Grymes, a gallant and distinguished officer of the life-guard ; the 
Captain of the vessel, the son of a brave soldier wounded in the battle of Guilford ; 
and Geokge W. P. Custis, the son of John Parke Custis, aid-de-camp to the 
commander-in-chief before Cambridge and Yorktown. 

" We gathered together the bricks of an ancient chimney that once formed the 
hearth around which Washington in his infancy had played, and constructed a rude 
kind of pedestal, on which we reverently placed the first stone, commending it to 
the respect and protection of the American people in general, and the citizens of 
Westmoreland in particular. 

" Bidding adieu to those who had received us so kindly, we re-embarked, and 
hoisted our colors, and being provided with a piece of cannon and suitable amuni- 
tion, we fired a salute, awakening the echoes that had slept for ages around the 
hallowed spot; and while the smoke of our martial tribute to the birthplace of the 
Pater Patrias still lingered on the bosom of the Potomac, we spread our sails to a 
favoring breeze, and sped joyously to our homes. 

" Such was an act of filial love and gratitude, performed more than a third of a 
century ago; such is the history of the first stone to the memory of Wash- 
ington. 

" Health and respect, my dear sir, 

"George W. P. Custis." 

* A drawing of this stone, with the inscription, may be found in Lossing s Fidd 
Book of the Revolution, 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 129 

seat in Westmoreland, he removed, with his family, to a 
situation near the village of Fredericksburg,"^ where he died 
about middle age, universally esteemed as a man of wortli 
and honor, and as a useful member of society. He is 
described as having been of fair complexion, tall stature, 
and manly proportions. 

At the time of his father's death, George Washington 
was between eleven and twelve years of age. He has 
Jbeen heard to say, that he knew little of his father, other 
than a remembrance of his person, and of his parental 
fondness. Of the mother, that distinguished woman, to 
whose peculiar cast of character, and more than ancient 
discipline in the education of her illustrious son, himself 
ascribed the origin of his fortunes and his fame, we have 
much to say. 

She was descended from the very respectable family 
of Ball, Avho settled as English colonists, on the banks of 
the Potomac.f Bred in those domestic and independent 
habits, which graced the Virginia matrons in the olden 
days, this lady, by the death of her husband, became in- 
volved in the cares of a young family, at a period when 

* A picture of tliis dwellin<^ of the Washington family may be found in Lossinf^'s 

Fidd-Book of the Revolution. 

t Bishop Meade in his History of Old Churches, Ministers, and Families of Virginia, 

j gives a description of a picture of armorial bearings that he had seen, on which 

is a lion rampant with a globe in his paws ; a helmet, and shield, and vizor; a coat- 

of-mail, and other things betokening strength and courage ; and for a motto words 

j from a line of Ovid — Ccelumque tueri. On the back of the picture is written — 

\ "The coat-of-arms of Colonel William Ball, who came from England with his 

j family about the year 1650, and settled at the mouth of Corotoman river, in Lancaster 

I county, Virginia, and died in 1669, leaving two sons, William and Joseph, and one 

I daughter, Hannah, who married Daniel Fox. William left eight sons (and one 

' daughter) five of whom have now (Anno Domini, 1779) male issue. Joseph's male 

l| issue is extinct. General George Washington is his grandson, by his youngest 

I daughter, Mary." 



130 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

these responsibilities seem more especially to claim the 
aid and control of the stronger sex ; and it was left for 
this remarkable woman, by a method the most rare, by 
an education and discipline the most peculiar and im- 
posing, to form in the youth-time of her son those great 
and essential qualities which led him on to the glories of 
his after-life. If the school savored more of the Spartan 
than the Persian character, it was a fitter one in which to 
form a hero, destined to be the ornament of the time in 
which he flourished, and a standard of excellence for ages 
yet to come. 

It was said by the ancients that the mother always 
gave the tone to the character of the child ; and we may 
be permitted to say, that since the days of antiquity, a 
mother has not lived, better fitted to give the tone and 
character of real greatness to her child, than her, whose 
life and actions this reminiscence will endeavor to illus- 
trate. 

The mother of Washington, in forming him for those 
distinguished parts he was destined to perform, first I 
taught him the duties of obedience, the better to pre- 
pare him for those of command. In the well-ordered 
domicil, where his early years were passed, the levity 
and indulgence, common to youth, was temjDcred by a 
deference and well-regulated restraint, which, while it 
curtailed or suppressed no rational enjoyment, usual in 
the spring-time of life, prescribed those enjoyments with- | 
in the bounds of moderation and propriety. 

The matron held in reserve an authority, which never 
departed from her ; not even when her son had become the 
most illustrious of men. It seemed to say, " I am yoiu* 
mother, the being who gave you life, the guide who di- 



THE MOTIIE?v OF WASIIEsGTON. 131 

rected your steps when they needed the guidance of age 
and wisdom, the parental affection which claimed your 
love, the parental authority which commanded your 
obedience ; whatever may be your success, whatever 
your renown, next to your God you owe them most to 
me." Nor did the chief dissent from these truths, but to 
the last moments of the life of his venerable parent, he 
yielded to her will the most dutiful and implicit obe- 
dience, and felt for her person and character the most 
holy reverence and attachment. 

This lady possessed not the ambition which is common 
to lesser minds ; and the peculiar plainness, yet dignity 
of her habits and manners, became in nowise altered, 
when the sun of glory rose upon her house, in the char- 
acter of her child. The late Lawrence Washington, Esq., 
of Chotank, one of the associates of the juvenile years of 
the chief, and remembered by him in his will, thus de- 
scribes the home of the mother : — 

" I was often there with George, his playmate, school- 
mate, and young man's companion. Of the mother I 
was ten times more afraid than I ever was of my own 
parents. She awed me in the midst of her kindness, for 
she w^as, indeed, truly kind. I have often been present 
with her sons, proper tall fellows too, and we were all as 
mute as mice ; and even now, when time has whitened 
my locks, and I am the grand-parent of a second gener- 
ation, I could not behold that remarkable woman with- 
out feelings iif is impossible to describe. Whoever has 
seen that awe-inspiring air and manner so characteristic 
in the Father of his Country, will remember the matron 
as she appeared when the presiding genius of her well- 
ordered household, commanding and being obeyed." 



132 KECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Of the many anecdotes touching the early life of the 
chief, we shall present our readers Avith one of no ordin- 
ary interest and character. 

The blooded horse was the Virginian favorite of those 
days as well as these. Washington's mother, fond of the 
animal to which her deceased husband had been particu- 
larly attached, had preserved the race in its greatest 
purity, and at the time of our story possessed several 
young horses of superior promise. 

One there was, a sorrel, destined to be as famous (and 
for much better reason) as the horse, which the brutal 
emperor raised to the dignity of consul. This sorrel was 1 
of a fierce and ungovernable nature, and resisted all at-j 
tempts to subject him to the rein. He had reached his 
fullest size and vigor, unconscious of a rider ; he ranged 
free in the air, which he snuffed in triumph, tossing his 
mane to the winds, and spurning the earth in the pride 
of his freedom. It was a matter of common remark, 
that a man never would be found hardy enough to back 
and ride this vicious horse. Several had essayed, but 
deterred by the fury of the animal, they had desisted 
from their attempts, and the steed remained unbroken. 

The young AYashington proposed to his companions, 
that if they would assist him in confining the steed, so 
that a bridle could be placed in his mouth, he would 
engage to tame this terror of the parish. Accordingly, 
early the ensuing morning, the associates decoyed the 
horse into an inclosure, where they secured him, and 
forced a bit into his mouth. Bold, vigorous, and young, 
the daring youth sprang to his unenvied seat, and bidding 
his comrades remove their tackle, the indignant courser 
rushed to the plain. 



THE MOTHER OF WASHESIGTON. 133 

As if disdaining his burden, he at first attempted to 
fly, but soon felt the power of an arm Avhich could have 
tamed his Arab grandsires, in their wildest course on 
their native deserts. . The struggle now became terrific 
to the beholders, who almost wished that they had not 
joined in an enterprise, so likely to be fatal to their 
daring associate. But the youthful hero, that "spiritr 
23rotected man,"* clung to the furious steed, till centaur- 
like, he appeared to make part of the animal itself 
Long was the conflict, and the fears of the associates be- 
came more relieved as, with matchless skill the rider pre- 
served his seat, and with unyielding force controlled the 
courser's rage, when the gallant horse, summoning all his 
j)0wers to one mighty effort, reared, and plunged with 
tremendous violence, burst his noble heart, and died in 
an instant. 

The rider, "alive, unharmed, and without a wound," 
was joined by the youthful group, and all gazed upon 
the generous steed, which now prostrate, " trailed in dust 
the honors of his mane," while from distended nostrils 
gushed in torrents the life-blood that a moment before 
had swollen in his veins. 

The first surprise was scarcely over, With a what's to 
be done ? Who shall tell this tale ? when the party were 
summoned to the morning's meal. A conversation, the 
most mal a propos to the youthful culprits, became intro- 
duced by the matron's asking, " Pray, young gentlemen, 
have you seen my blooded colts in your rambles ? I hojDe 
they are well taken care of; my favorite, I am told, is as 
large as his sire." Considerable embarrassment being 

* This refers to a remarkable Indian prophecy, given in a future chapter of this 
work. 



134 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

observable, tlie lacly repeated lier question, when George 
Washington repUecl, " Your favorite, the sorrel, is dead, 
madam." " Dead," exclaimed the lady ; " why, how has 
tliis happened ?" Nothing dismayed, the youth continued, 
" That sorrel horse has long been considered ungovern- 
able, and bej^ond the power of man to back or ride him ; 
tliis morning, aided by my friends, we forced a bit into 
his mouth ; I backed him, I rode him, and in a desperate 
struggle for the mastery, he fell under me and died upon 
the spot." The hectic of a moment was observed to 
flush on the matron's cheek, but like a summer cloud, it 
soon passed away, and all was serene and tranquil, when • 
she remarked : " It is well ; but while I regret the loss of 
my favorite, I rejoice in my son, ivlio always speaks the indliV 

At the time of this occurrence, the figure of the lad 
is described by his contemporaries as being that of the 
athletae of the games. Although of manners "somewhat 
grave and reserved, he indulged in the gayeties common 
to the youth at that period. He particularly excelled in 
all the manly exercises, sought the companionship of the 
intelligent and deserving, and was beloved and admired 
by all who knew him. 

Upon his appointment to the office of commander-in- 
cliief of the American armies,"*' General Washington, j^rc- 

* Washington was appointed commander-in-chief of all the forces raised, or to be 
raised, for the defence of the colonies, on the fifteenth of June, 1775. John Adams 
has left on record the following interesting particulars concerning that appoint- 
ment : — 

"Every post brought me letters from my friends, Dr. Winthrop, Dr. Cooper, 
General James Warren, and sometimes from General Ward and his aids, and Gen- 
eral Heath and many others, urging, in pathetic terras, the impossibility of keeping 
their men together without the assistance of Congress. I was daily urging all these 
things, but we were embarrassed with more than cue difficulty, not only with the 
party in favor of the petition to the king, and the party who were jealous of inde- • 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 135 

viously to liis joining the forces at Cambridge [July 3, 
1775], removed his mother from lier country residence 
to the village of Fredericksburg, a situation remote from 
danger, and contiguous to her friends and relatives. 

pendence, but a third party, which was a southern party against a northern, and a 
jealousy against a New-England army under the command of a New-England gen- 
eral. Whether this jealousy was sincere, or whether it was mere pride and a haughty 
ambition of furnishing a southern general to command the northern army, I can not 
say ; but the intention was very visible to me that Colonel Washington was their object, 
and so many of our stanchest men were in the plan that we could carry nothing with- 
out conceding to it. Another embarrassment, which was never publicly known, and 
which was carefully concealed by those who knew it, the Massachusetts and other 
New-England delegates were divided. Mr. Hancock and Mr. Gushing hung back, 
Mr. Paine did not come forward, and even Mr. Samuel Adams was irresolute. Mr. 
Hancock himself had an ambition to be appointed commander-in-chief Whether 
he thought an election a compliment due to him, and intended to have the honor of 
declining it, or whether he would have accepted it, I know not. To the compliment 
he had some pretensions ; for, at that time, his exertions, sacrifices, and general 
merits in the cause of his country, had been incomparably greater than those of 
Colonel Washington. But the delicacy of his health, and his entire want of expe- 
rience in actual service, though an excellent militia officer, were decisive objections 
to him in my mind. In canvassing this subject out of doors, I found, too, that even 
among the delegates of Virginia there were difficulties. The apostolical reasonings 
among themselves which should be the greatest were not less energetic among the 
samts of the Ancient Dominion than they were among us of New England. In 
several conversations I found more than one very cool about the appointment of 
Washington, and particularly Mr. Pendleton was very clear and full against it. 

" Full of anxieties concerning these confusions, and apprehending daily that wo 
should hear very distressing news from Boston, I walked with Mr. Samuel Adams 
in the statehouse-yard for a little exercise and fresh air before the hour of Congress, 
and there represented to him the various dangers that surrounded us. He agreed 
to them all, but said, ' What shall we do V I answered him that he knew I had 
taken great pains to get our colleagues to agree upon some plan, that we might 
DC unanimous ; but he knew that they would pledge themselves to nothing ; but I 
was determined to take a step which should compel them and all the other members 
of Congress to declare themselves for or against something. ' I am determined this 
morning to make a direct motion that Congress should adopt the army before Boston, 
and appoint Colonel Washington commander of it.' Mr. Adams seemed to think 
very seriously of it, but said nothing. 

" Accordingly, when Congress had assembled, I rose in my place, and in as short 
a speech as the subject would admit, represented the state of the colonies, the uncer- 
tainty in the minds of the people, their great expectation and anxiety, the distresses 



136 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 1"] 

It was there the matron remained durmg nearly the 
whole of the trying period of the Eevoliition. Directly 
in the way of the news, as it passed from north to south, 
one courier would bring intelligence of success to our 
arms, another "swiftly coursing at his heels," the sadden- jj 
ing tale of disaster and defeat. While thus ebbed and 

of the army, the danger of its dissolution, the difficulty of collecting another ; and 
the probability that the British army would take advantage of our delaj's, march out 
of Boston, and spread desolation as far as they could go. I concluded with a mo- 
tion, in form, that Congress would adopt the army at Cambridge, and appoint a 
general ; that though this was not the proper time to nominate a general, yet, as I 
had reason to believe this was a point of the greatest difficulty, I had no hesitation 
to declare that I had but one gentleman in my mind for that important command, 
and that was a gentleman from Virginia, who was among us, and very well known 
to all of us ; a gentleman whose skill and experience as an officer, whose independent 
fortune, great talents, and excellent universal character would command the approba- 
tion of all America, and unite the cordial exertions of all the colonies better than any 
other person in the Union. Mr. Washington, who happened to sit near the door, as 
soon as he heard me allude to him, from his usual modesty, darted into the library room. 
Mr. Hancock, who was our president, which gave me an opportunity to observe his 
countenance while I was speaking on the state of the colonies, the army at Cambridge, 
and the enemy, heard me with visible pleasure ; but when I came to describe Washing- 
ton for the commander, I never remarked a more sudden and striking change of coun- 
tenance. Mortification and resentment were expressed as forcibly as his face could 
exhibit them. Mr. Samuel Adams seconded the motion, and that did not soften the 
president's physiognomy at all. The subject came under debate, and several gentle- 
men declared themselves against the apjiointment of Mr. Washington, not on ac- 
count of any personal objection against him, but because the army were all from 
New England, had a general of their own, appeared to be satisfied with him, and had 
proved themselves able to imprison the British army in Boston, which was all they 
expected or desired at that time. 

"Mr. Pendleton, of Virginia, Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut, were very explicit in 
declaring this opinion. Mr. Cushing and several others more faintly expressed their 
opposition, and their fears of discontent in the army and in New England. Mr. 
Paine expressed a great opinion of General Ward, and a strong friendship for him, 
having been his classmate at college, or, at least, his contemporary; but gave no 
opinion on the question. The subject was postponed to a future day. In the mean- 
time, pains were taken out of doois to obtain a unanimity, and the voices were gen- 
erally so clearly in favor of Washington, that the dissenting members were persuaded 
to withdraw their opposition, and Mr. Washington was nominated, I believe, by Mr. 
Thomas Johnson, of Maryland, unanimously elected, and the army adapted." — Life 
and Works of John Adams, ii. 415 to 418, inclusive. 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. x 137 

flowed the fortunes of our cause, the mother, trusting to 
the wisdom and protection of Divine Providence, pre- 
served the even tenor of her hfe, affording an example 
to those matrons whose sons were ahke engaged in the 
arduous contest ; and showing that unavaihng anxieties, 
however belonging to human nature, were unworthy of 
mothers whose sons were combatting for the inestimable 
rights of mankind, and the freedom and happiness of un- 
born ages. 

When the comforting and glorious intelligence arrived 
of the passage of the Delaware (Dec. '76*), an event 
which restored our hopes from the very brink of despair, 
a number of her friends waited upon the mother with 
congratulations. She received them with calmness ; ob- 
served that it was most pleasurable news, and that George 
appeared to have deserved well of his country for such 
signal service ; and continued, in reply to the gratulating 
patriots (most of whom held letters in their hands, from 
which they read extracts, for gazettes were not so plenty 
then as now), "but, my good sirs, here is too much 
flattery ; still George will not forget the lessons I early 
taught him — he will not forget himself, though he is the 
subject of so much praise." 

Here I will speak of the absurdity of an idea which, 
from some strange cause or other, has been suggested, 
though certainly never believed, that the mother of 
Washington was disposed to favor the royal cause. Not 
the slightest foundation has such a surmise in truth. 
Like many others, whose days of enthusiasm were in 
the wane, that lady doubted the prospects of success in 
the outset of the war, and long during its continuance 

* See notes on the battle of Princeton. 



138 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

feared that our means would be found inadequate to a 
successful contest with so formidable a power as Britain ; 
and that our soldiers, brave, but undiscijDlined and ill pro- 
vided, would be unequal to cojdc with the veteran and 
\i ell-appointed troops of the king. Doubts like these 
were by no means confined to this Virginia matron, but 
were both entertained and expressed by the stanchest 
of patriots and the most determined of men. When 
that mother, who had been removed to the county of 
Frederick, on the invasion of Virginia, in 1781, was in-< 
formed by express of the surrender of Cornwallis, she 
raised her hands to heaven, and exclaimed, "Thank 
God, war will now be ended, and peace, independence, 
and happiness, bless our country." > 

The commander-in-chief was absent from his native 
state from the spring of '75 to the fall of '81, a period of 
nearly seven years. It was his habit to send for Mrs. 
Washington at the close of a campaign, and to return 
her to Mount Vernon on the opening of an ensuing one. 
This estimable lady used to observe, that she always 
heard the first cannon on the opening, and the last at 
the close of the campaigns of the Revolutionary war. 

It happened that while remaining later than usual in 
the camp on the Hudson, an alarm was given of the 
approach of the enemy from New York. The aids-de- 
camp proposed that the ladies (these being the wives of 
Generals Greene and Knox, and others at headquarters) 
should be sent off under an escort. This the chief 
refused, remarking, the presence of our wives will the 
better encourage us to a brave defence. On a dark 
night, the words of command from the officers, the 
marching of the troops, the dragging of artillery into the 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 139 

yard, the taking out of the windows of the house, and the 
filhng of the house itself wdth soldiers, " all gave dread- 
ful note of prejDaration," when the enemy finding them- 
selves mistaken in their hopes of surprise, withdrew 
without coming to blows.* 

During the war, and indeed during her useful life, and 
until within three years of her death, when an afflictive 
disease prevented exertion, the mother of Washington 
set a most valuable example in the management of her 
domestic concerns, carrying her own keys, bustling in 
her household affairs, providing for her own wants, and 
living and moving in all the pride of independence. 
There are some of the aged inhabitants of Fredericks- 
burg who well remember the matron as, seated in an old- 
fashioned open chaise, she was in the habit of almost 

* This little episode, so abruptly introduced here, is doubtless one of a series of 
similar events which took place while the American army lay at Morristown, in 
New Jersey, during the winter and spring of 1779 and 1780. The main body of 
the army was encamped upon the southern slope of a mountain near that village, 
and until the middle of February occupied tents. Then they were received into 
comfortable huts, which they occupied until the breaking up of the camp in the 
spring. The camp extended from the headquarters in the Ford mansion, about a 
quarter of a mile from the village of Morristown, westward for several miles. Du- 
i ring that winter, the proximity of the army to the enemy in New York caused fre- 
I quent alarms, which usually set the whole camp in motion. Sentinels were set at 
intervals between the camp and headquarters, and pickets were planted at distant 
; points toward the Raritan and Hudson, with intervening sentinels. Sometimes an 
I alarm would commence by the firing of a gun at some distant point. This wouid 
be responded to by the sentinels all along the line to headquarters, when iha 
general's life-guard would rush to the house of the chief, barricade the doors and 
jthrow up the windows. At each window five soldiers, with their muskets cocksd 
|and brought to a charge, would generally be placed, and there remain until ihe 
|troops from the camp marched to headquarters, and the cause of the alarm was 
.ascertained. These occasions were very annoying to the ladies of the household ; 
jfor, as I was informed by the late Judge Ford (then a boy fourteen years of <ige, 
and living there), Mrs. Washington and his mother were obliged to lie in bed, some- 
(times for hours, with their room full of soldiers, and the keen winter air from tha 
(Open windows piercing through their drawn curtaina. 



140 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

daily visiting her little ftirm in the vicinity of the to^vn. 
When there, she would ride about her fields, giving her 
orders, and seeing that they were obeyed. On one occa- 
sion an agent to whom she had given directions as to a 
particular piece of work, varied from his instructions in 
its execution. The lady, whose coup d'ceil was as perfect 
in rural affairs as that of her son in war, pointed out the 
error. The agent excused himself by saying, that "in 
his judgment the work was done to more advantage than 
it would have been by his first directions." Mrs. Wash-^ 
ington replied, " And pray, wdio gave you any exercise 
of judgment in the matter ? I command you, sir ; there 
is nothing left for you but to obey." 

Her great industry, with the well-regulated economy 
of all her concerns, enabled the matron to dispense con- 
siderable charities to the poor, although her own circum- 
stances were always far from rich. All manner of domes- 
tic economics, so useful in those times of privation and 
trouble; received her zealous attention; while every-, 
thinec about her household bore marks of her care and 
management, and very many things the impress of her 
own hands. 

In a very humble dwelling, at the advanced age of 
eighty-two, and suffering under an excruciating disease 
(cancer of the breast), thus lived this mother of the first 
of men, preserving imchanged her peculiar nobleness 
end independence of character. She was continuall}^ 
visited and solaced by her children and numerous grand- 
children, particularly her daughter, Mrs. Lewis. To the 
repeated and earnest solicitations of this lady, that she j 
\YOuId remove to her house and pass the remainder of 
her days ; to the pressing entreaties of her son that she 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 141 

would make Mount Yernon the home of her old age, the 
matron replied; "I thank you for your affectionate and 
dutiful offers, but my wants are few in this world, and I 
feel perfectly competent to take care of myself" Upon 
her son-in-law, Colonel Fielding Lewis proposing that he 
should relieve her in the direction of her affairs, she 
observed ; " Do you, Fielding, keep my books in order, 
for your eyesight is better than mine, but leave the ex- 
ecutive management to me." 

One weakness alone belonged to this lofty-minded and 
intrepid woman, and that proceeded from a most affect- 
ing cause. It was a fear of lightning. In early life, a 
female friend had been killed at her side, while sitting: at 
the table, the knife and fork in the hands of the unfor- 
tunate being melted by the electric fluid. The matron 
never recovered from the shock occasioned by this dis- 
tressing incident. On the approach of a thunder-cloud, 
she would retire to her chamber, and not leave it again 
till the storm had passed over. 

Always pious, in her latter days her devotions were 
performed in private. She was in the habit of repairing 
every day to a secluded spot, formed by rocks and trees 
near to her dwelling, where, abstracted from the world 
and w^orldly things, she communed with her Creator in 
humiliation and prayer. 

Late in the year 1781, on the return of the combined 
armies from Yorktown, the mother of Washington was 
permitted again to see and embrace her illustrious son, 
the first time in almost seven years. As soon as he had 
dismounted, in the midst of a numerous and brilliant 
suite, after reaching Fredericksburg, he sent to apprize 
her of his arrival, and to know when it would be her 



142 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

pleasure to receive liim. And now, reader, mark the ' 
force of early education and habits, and the superiority 
of the Spartan over the Persian school, in this interview 
of the Great Washington with his admirable parent and 
instructor. No pageantry of war proclaimed his coming, 
no trumpets sounded, no banners waved. Alone and on 
foot, the general-in-chief of the combined armie» of 
France and America, the deliverer of his country, the 
hero of the age, repaired to pay his humble duty to her 
whom he venerated as the author of his being — the 
founder of his fortunes and his fame ; for full well he 
knew that the matron was made of sterner stuff than to 
be moved by all the pride that glory ever gave, and all 
" the pomp and circumstance" of power. 

She was alone, her aged hands employed in the works 
of domestic industry, when the good news was announced, 
and it was further told, that the victor-chief was in wait- 
ing at the threshold. She bid him welcome by a warm 
embrace, and by the well-remembered and endearing 
name of George — the familiar name of his childhood; 
she inquired as to his health, remarked the lines which 
mighty cares and many toils had made in his manly 
countenance, spoke much of old times and old friends, 
but of his glory not one word. 

Meantime, in the village of Fredericksburg, all was joy 
and revelry ; the toAvn was crowded with the officers of 
the French and American armies, and with gentlemen 
for many miles around, who hastened to welcome the 
conquerors of Cornwallis.'^ The citizens got up a splendid 
ball, to which the matron was specially invited. She 
observed, that although her dancing days were pretty 

* See account of tlie victory at Yorktown in Chapter vi. 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 143 

well over, she should feel liappy in contributing to tlie 
general festivity, and consented to attend. 

The foreign officers were anxious to see the mother 
of their chief They had heard indistinct rumors touch- 
ing her remarkable life and character, but forming their 
judgments from European examples, they were prepared 
to expect in the mother, that glitter and show wliich 
would have been attached to the parents of the great, in 
the countries of the old world. How were they sur- 
prised, when leaning on the arm oP her son, she entered 
the room, dressed in the very plain, yet becoming garb, 
worn by the Virginia lady of the old time. Her address 
always dignified and imposing, was courteous, though 
reserved. She received the complimentary attentions 
which were paid to her without evincing the slightest 
elevation, and at an early hour, wishing the company 
much enjoyment of their pleasures, observed, that it was 
high time for old folks to be in bed, and retired, leaning 
as before on the arm of her son. 

The foreign officers were amazed in beholding one 
whom so many causes conspired to elevate, preserving 
the even tenor of her life, while such a blaze of glory 
shone upon her name and offspring. It was a moral 
spectacle such as the European world had furnished no 
examples. Names of ancient lore were heard to escape 
from their lips; and they declared, "if such are the 
matrons in America, well may she boast of illustrious 

sons." 

« 

It was on this festive occasion, that General Washing- 
ton danced a minuet with Mrs. Willis. It closed his 
dancing days. The minuet was much in vogue at that 
period, and was peculiarly calculated for the display of 



144 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



I 



the splendid figure of tlie chief, and his natural grace 
and elegance of air and manner. The gallant French- 
men who were present, of which fine people it may be 
said that dancing forms one of the elements of their ex- 
istence, so much admired the American performance, as 
to admit that a Parisian education could not have im-j 
proved it. As the evening advanced, the commander-in-' 
chief yielding to the general gayety of the scene, went 
down some dozen couple in the centre dance with great 
spirit and satisfaction.* ^ 

Previous to his departure for Europe, in the fall of 
1784, the Marquis de Lafayettef repaired to Fredericks- 
burg to pay his parting respects to the mother, and to, 
ask her blessing. 

Conducted by one of her grandsons, he approached 
the house, when the young gentleman observing, " There, 
sir, is my grandmother ;" the marquis beheld, working in 
her garden, clad in domestic-made clothes, and her gray 
head covered by a plain straw hat, the mother of " his 
hero, his friend, and a country's preserver." The lady 
saluted him kindly, observing, " Ah, marquis, you see an 
old woman ; but come, I can make you welcome to my 
poor dwelling, without the parade of changing my dress." 

Much as Lafayette had seen and heard of the matron 

* The venerable widow of General Alexander Hamilton, informed me, that 
Washington was never known to dance after the close of the Revolutionary war. 
She was present at many balls where he attended. He would sometimes ivalk 
through a figure or two with ladies, during the evening, but never took the steps of 
the dance. * 

t Lafayette revisited the United States in 1784, and with eager steps he made his 
way to Mount Vernon as quickly as possible, after reaching our shores. He was 
twice a guest with Washington during that year; the first time in July, and the last 
in November. An account of these visits will be found in another part of this 
volume. 



THE MOTHER OF WASHIXGTON. 145 

before, on this interesting interview he was at once 
charnied, and struck with wonder. When he considered 
her great age, the transcendant elevation of her son, 
who, surpassing all rivals in the race of glory, " bore the 
palm alone," and at the same time discovered no change 
in her plain, yet dignified life and manners, he became 
assured that nature had not cast this distinguished 
woman in an ordinary mould, and that the Roman 
matron could flourish in the modern day. 

The marquis discoursed of the happy effects of the 
Revolution, and the goodly prospects which opened upon 
regenerated America ; spoke of his speedy departure for 
his native land ; paid the tribute of his heart, in his love 
and admiration of her illustrious son ; and concluded, by 
asking her blessing. She gave it to him, and to the 
encomiums which he had lavished upon his hero and 
paternal chief, she replied in these words, " I am not sur- 
prised at what George has done, for he was always a 
very good boy." 

Immediately after the organization of the present gov- 
ernment,* the chief magistrate repaired to Fredericks- 
burg, to pay his humble duty to his mother, preparatory 
to his departure for New York. An affecting scene en- 
sued. The son feelingly remarked the ravages which 
a torturing disease had made upon the aged frame of the 
mother, and addressed her with these words : " The peo- 
ple, madam, have been pleased, with the most flattering 
unanimity, to elect me to the chief magistracy of these 
United States, but before I can assume the functions of 
my office, I have come to bid you an affectionate fare- 
j well. So soon as the weight of public business, which 

^ In the spring of 1789. 



146 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

mnst necessarily attend the outset of a new government, 
can be disposed of, I sliall hasten to Virginia, and" — 
Here the matron interrupted with — "and you will see 
me no more; my great age, and the disease which is 
fast approaching my vitals, warn me that I shall not he 
lono- in this world ; I trust in God that I may be some- 
what prepared for a better. But go, George, fulfil the 
the high destinies which Heaven aj^pears to have intended 
you for; go, my son, and may that Heaven's and a 
mother's blessing be with you always." 

The president was deeply affected. His head rested 
upon the shoulder of his parent, whose aged arm feebly, 
yet fondly encircled his neck. That brow on which 
fame had wreathed the purest laurel virtue ever gave to 
created man, relaxed from its lofty bearing. That look 
which could have awed a Roman senate in its Fabrician 
day, was bent in filial tenderness upon the time-worn 
features of the aged matron. He wept. A thousand 
recollections crowded upon his mind, as memory re- 
tracing scenes long passed, carried him back to the 
maternal mansion and the days of juvenility, where he 
beheld that mother, whose care, education, and discipline, 
caused him to reach the topmost height of laudable am- 
bition. Yet, how were his glories forgotten, while he 
gazed upon her whom, wasted by time and malady, he 
should part with to meet no more. Her predictions 
were but too true. The disease which so long had preyed 
■upon her frame, completed its triumph, and she expired 
at the age of eighty-five, rejoicing in the consciousness 
of a life well spent, and confiding in the belief of a blessed 
immortalit}^ 

In her person, the matron was of the middle size, and 



I 



THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON. 147 

well proportioned; her features pleasing, yet strongly 
marked. It is not the happiness of the author to re- 
member her, having only seen her with infant eyes. 
The sister of the chief he perfectly well remembers. 
She was a most majestic-looking woman, and so strikingly 
like the brother, that it was a matter of frolic to throw, a 
cloak around her, and placing a military hat on her head, 
such Avas her amazing resemblance, that on her appear- 
ance, battalions would have presented arms, and senates 
risen to do homage to the chief* 

In her latter days, the matron often spoke of her own 
good boy ; of the merits of his early life ; of his love and 
duty; but of the deliverer of his country — the chief magis- 
trate of the great republic, never. Call you this insensi- 
bility ? call 3^ou it want of ambition ? Oh, no ; her ambition 
had been gratified to overflowing. In her Spartan school 
she had taught him to be good — that he became great, 
was a consequence, not the cause. 

Thus lived and died this distinguished woman. Had 
she been of the olden time, statues would have been 
erected to her memory in the capitol, and she would 
have been called the Mother of Romans. When another 
century shall have elapsed, and our descendants shall 
have learned the true value of liberty, how will the fame 
of the paternal chief be cherished in story and in song, 
nor will be forgotten her, who first " bent the twig" to 
"incline the tree" to glory. 

Then, and not till then, will youth and age, maid and 
matron, aye, and bearded men, with pilgrim step, repair 

* This was the mother of Lawrence Lewis, the fiworite nephew of Washington, 
v'ho married Eleanor Parlic Custis, mentioned in the precedmg Memoir of the 
author of these Recollections. 



I 



148 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

to the now neglected grave of the mother of Wash- 
ington* 

* It is yet a neglected grave. This Memoir was written more than thirty years 
ago. It was first published in the National Gazette, on the 13th of May, 1826. It 
attracted a great deal of attention at the time, and a project was set on foot for the 
re-entombment of the remains of the matron, and the erection of a monument over 
them. This movement was by no means confined to the people of Virginia, It 
elicited the public sympathy' throughout the Union. The press, as usual, discussed 
the subject, and a New York paper proposed that the whole matter of raising the 
moderate sum of two thousand dollars, for the erection of the monument, should be 
left entirely in the hands of "the American Maids and Matrons." Mr. Gordon, the 
proprietor of the estate on which was the matron's grave, had some correspondence 
with Mr. Custis on the subject, and the inhabitants of Fredericksburg got up a 
memorial. But the wliole project slumbered for several years. 

Finally, in 1833, Silas E. Burrows, Esq., of the city of New York, undertook to 
erect a monument to the memory of the mother of Washington, at his own expense. 
The corner-stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, very near her grave, a spot 
which she herself had selected for burial, on the land of her son-in-law. Colonel 
Fielding Lewis, near the ledge of rocks where she used to retire for meditation and 
devotion. It was placed by Andrew Jackson, then president of the United States, 
on the seventh of May, 1833, in the presence of a great concourse of people. He 
went down the Potomac from Washington city, on the sixth, and was met at Potomac 
creek, nine miles from Fredericksburg, by the monument committee of that city. 
He was received by a military escort, by whom he was conducted to the residence 
of Doctor Wallace, in Fredericksburg, where he was entertained until the following 
day, when a large military and civic procession was formed, proceeded to the grave, 
and there engaged in imposing ceremonies. 

The procession was formed in the following order : — 

1. A detachment of cavalry. 

2. The chief architect and masonic societies. In this division, Silas E. Burrows, 
of New York, was assigned a conspicuous and honorable station. 

3. The president of the United States in an open carriage, with the heads of de- 
partments, and his private secretary (Major Donelson), accompanied by the monu- 
ment committee. 

4. The clergy, and relatives of Wasliington. 

5. The mayor and common council of Fredericksburg. 

6. A handsome company of small boys, in complete uniform, with wooden guns. 

7. The officers of the army and navy of the United States, and the invited 
strangers. 

8. A battalion of volunteers under the command of Major Patten, and several 
companies of infantry from Washington and Alexandria, with the marine band. 

9. Strangers and citizens, six abreast. 

It was estimated that at least fifteen thousand persons were present on the occa- 
sion. After an appropriate prayer by the Reverend E. C. M'Guire (since author of 



THE MOTHER OF WASHmOTON. 149 

a volume on the Ecligious Character of Washington), Mr. Bassett, one of the mem- 
bers of the monument committee, delivered an eloquent address to the president on 
the character of her whom they sought to honor. The president made a most touch- 
ing reply, and as he deposited an inscribed plate in the corner stone, he said, " Fellow- 
citizens, at your request, and in your name, I now deposite this plate in the spot 
destined for it; and when the American pilgrim shall, in after ages, come up to this 
high and holy place, and lay his hand upon this sacred column, may he recall the 
virtues of her who sleeps beneath, and depart with his affections purified, and his 
piety strengthened, while he invokes blessings upon the memory of the mother of 
Washington." 
Mrs. Sigourney thus wrote, in reference to this event : — 

" Long hast thou slept unnoticed. Nature stole 
In her soft minstrelsy around thy bed, 
Spreading her vernal tissue, violet-gemmed, 
And pearled witli dews. 

She bade bright summer bring 
Gifts of frankincense, with sweet song of birds, 
And autumn cast his reaper's coronet 
Down at thy feet, and stormy winter speak 
Sternly of man's neglect. But now we come 
To do thee homage — Mother of our chief! — 
Fit homage, such as honoreth him who pays. 
Methinks we see thee, as in olden time — 
Simple in garb, majestic, and serene ; 
Unmoved by pomp or circumstances ; in truth 
Inflexible ; and, with a Spartan zeal. 
Repressing vice and making folly grave. 
Thou didst not deem, it woman's part to waste 
Life in inglorious sloth — to sport a while 
Amid the flowers, or on the summer wave, 
Then, fleet like the Ephemeron, away, 
Building no temple in her children's hearts. 
Save to the vanity and pride of life 
Which she had worshipped. 

For the might that clothed 
The "Pater Patrite" — for the glorious deeds 
That make Mount Vernon's tomb a Mecca shrine 
For all the earth, what thanks to thee are due. 
Who, 'mid his elements of being wrought. 
We know not — Heaven can tell." 

The monument thus commenced, was never finished. Everything was completed 
bat the obelisk with which it was to be surmounted, and the inscription. Commer- 
cial reverses soon afterward befel the noble inceptor and designer, and he was com- 
Delled to abandon his patriotic work. And with shame be it spoken, the citizens of 



150 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Virginia have left the unfinislied monument to crumhle into dust, and the mother 
of Washington to remain unhonored. Yet there is a ray of light. A correspondent 
of the New Hampshire Patriot, writing from Whampoa, in China, under date of 
Dec-ember 20, 1858, speaks thus of Mr. Burrows and the monument: — 

" I supposed he was long since dead, -and that his monument and memory would 
perish together. But he still lives ; and though his great object is suspended, it is 
not abandoned, but only adjourned till he can recuperate his fortunes. I met with 
him in Hong Kong, where, with two sons, he is conducting commercial enterprises, 
and sails back and forward between China and California with as little thought as 
you in taking the railroad for Boston. An old man and lame, on the other side of 
the globe, so far from his monument, and forgotten around the monument, even, as 
well as at home, it was touching to the heart to find him here, with one object, one 
thought, one last effort, remembering the ' Mother of Washington,' when he himself 
had passed from the memory of the living." 

I visited that unfinished monument near the close of 1848, when the huge obelisk 
of white marble, ready for the sculptor's hand lay there, broken and defaced'. The 
monument is also of white marble, and even in its unfinished state, had an imposing 
appearance. The years of more than a quarter of a century have now passed by 
since that corner-stone was laid, with so much pomp and promise, to the memory 
of her, of whom it was said by a distingushed gentleman in the city of modern Rome, 
that she was "the most fortunate of American matrons, in having given to her coun- 
try and to the world, a hero without ambition, and a patriot without reproach;" and 
yet the monument is unfinished. It stands there silently appealing to national patri- 
otism and local pride to sculpture its ornaments and seat its obelisk. It does 
more ; it rebukes the insensibility of tlie sons and daughters of Virginia, to the 
memory of the most honored woman of the land. Year after year the dust of the 
plain has lodged upon the top of the half-finished pile, and the winds have planted 
the seeds of flowers and weeds wild there ; and upon the base where that noble obelisk 
should stand, the sun, the rain, and the dew, annually weave green garlands and 
festoons, as if rebuking the indolence or avarice of insensate man. Even the marble 
tablet upon which was to be inscribed the simple words, 

MARY, THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON, 
is covered with green moss ; and there is nothing to tell the stranger that near him 
lie the mortal remains of her who gave birth to the Father of his Countkt. 

A picture of this unfinished monument may be found in Lossing's Fitld-Book of 
the Revolution. 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 151 



CHAPTER 11. 

WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 

Mkb. Washington's Miniature — "Wasuington's Lettek to Hee on accepting the Com- 
mand OF the Army — Membek of the Virginia House of Burgesses — His Peksonal 
Attractions — Mansion-House at Mount Veknon — The Chase — His Company — A Mas- 
ter op Slaves — Billy — Bishop — The Military Hat and War Sword — Billy at 
Mount Vernon — Washington's Exemption from Disease — An Early Riser — His 
Habits in Private and Public — His Costume — His War Horse — His Guests and 
His Duties— Tour of His Farms — A Description of Him — Use of the Umbrella — 
Toasts — Washington's Evenings — His Habit in Winter — His Exercise — Partiality 
TO Children — Washington an Observer of the Sabbath. 

Forty years a husband, General Washington retained 
an old-fashioned habit of husbands, as he always did the 
ease and elegance of old-fashioned manners.* From the 
time of his marriage, until he ceased to live in nature, he 
wore suspended from his neck, by a gold chain, and rest- 
ing on his bosom, the miniature portrait of his wife. The 
letter which he wrote to her, upon his accejDtance of the 
command of the American army,-|- is a proof, both of his 

* Washington was married in January 1759, and died in December 1799. 

t The following is a copy of the letter, transcribed from the autograph preserved 

at Arlington house. It is the only letter from Washington to his wife known to be 

in existence : — 

"Philadelphia, June 18, 1775. 
>^ 

" My Dearest : I am now sit down to write you on a subject which fills me with 

inexpressible concern, and this concern is greatly aggravated and increased when I 
reflect upon the uneasiness I know it will give you. It has been determined in 
Congress that the whole army raised for the defence of the American cause shall be 
put under my care, and that it is necessary for me to proceed immediately to Boston 
to take upon me the command of it. 

" You may believe me, my dear Patsy, wlien I assure you in the most solemn man- 
ner, that, so far from seeking this appointment, I have used every endeavor in my 
power to avoid it, not only from my unwillingness to part with you and the family 



152 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

conjugal tenderness, and diffidence in receiving so im- 
portant a commission ; also, of the purity of his heart, 
and of the generous and nobly disinterested motives 
which governed his life and actions. 

Soon after his marriage, Colonel "Washington became 
settled at Mount Vernon,* and was elected frequently 

but from a consciousness of its being a trust too great for my capacity, and that I 
should enjoy more real happiness in one month with }'ou at home tlian I have the 
most distant prospect of finding abroad, if my stay were to be seven times seven 
years. But as it has been a kind of destiny that has thrown me upon this service, I 
shall hope that my undertaking it is designed to answer some good purpose. You 
might, and I suppose did perceive, from the tenor of my letters, that I was appre- 
liensive I could not avoid this appointment, as I did not pretend to intimate when 
I should return. That was the case. It was utterly out of my power to refuse 
this appointment without exposing my character to such censures as would have 
reflected dishonor upon myself and given pain to my friends. This I am sure 
could not, and ought not, to be pleasing to you, and must have lessened me con- 
siderably in my own esteem. I sliall rely, therefore, confidently on that Providence 
which has heretofore preserved and been bountiful to me, not doubting but that I 
shall return safe to you in the fall. I shall feel no pain from the toil or the danger 
of the campaign ; my unhappiness will flow from the uneasiness I know you will 
feel from being left alone. I therefore beg that you will summon your whole 
fortitude, and pass your time as agreeably as possible. Nothing will give me so 
much sincere satisfaction as to hear this, and to hear it from your own pen. My 
earnest and ardent desire is, that you would pursue any plan that is most likely to 
produce content and a tolerable degree of tranquillity ; and it must add greatly to 
my uneasy feelings to hear that you are dissatisfied or complaining at what I really 
could not avoid. 

" As life is always uncertain, and common prudence dictates to every man the 
necessity of settling his temporal concerns, while it is in his power, and while the 
mind is calm and undisturbed, I have, since I came to this place (for I had not time 
to do it before I left home), got Colonel Pendleton to draft a will for me, by the 
directions I gave him, which will I now enclose. The provision made for you in 
case of my death will, I hope, be agreeable. 

" I shall add nothing more, as I have several letters to write, but to desire that you 
will remember me to your friends, and to assure you that I am, with the most 
nnfeigned regard, my dear Patsy, your aff"ectionate, &c." 

* The eminence which gave name to the whole estate on the Potomac, owned by 
Washington, and on which the mansion was built, was called IMount Vernon in 
honor of Admiral Vernon of the Britisli navy. Lawrence Washington, half-brother 
of George, and owner of the estate at that time, had served in the British army before 
Carthagena, where Vernon was the naval commander. Lawrence died in July 1752, 



t 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 153 

from the county of Fairfax to the house of burgesses * 
During the reigns of the provincial governors, Bote- 

at the early age of tliirty-four years, leaving a wife and infant daughter. The Mount 
Vernon estate was bequeathed to that daugliter, and in the event of her decease without 
issue, the property was to pass into the absolute possession of George, to whom, in 
his will, Lawrence had entrusted the chief care of his affairs, although he was the 
youngest executor. He was then only twenty years of age. The daughter did not 
long survive her father, and Mount Vernon became the property of George Wash- 
ington. In a letter to a friend in London, soon after his marriage, Washington 
wrote concerning his home: "No estate in United America is more pleasantly 
situated. In a high and healthy country ; in a latitude between the extremes of 
heat and cold , on one of the finest rivers in the world — a river well stock with vari- 
ous kinds of fish at all seasons of the year, and in the spring with shad, herring, 
bass, carp, sturgeon, &c., in great abundance. The borders of the estate are washed 
by more than ten miles of tide-water ; several valuable fisheries appertain to it; the 
whole shore, in fact, is one entire fishery." 

* While engaged in the campaign of 1758, Colonel Washington was elected a 
representative of Frederick county, in the Virginia house of burgesses. Just pre- 
vious to the election, his friends urged him to leave the army for a few days, and 
give the weight of his personal presence in favor of himself, as a candidate. The 
public good required him to remain with the army, and as that always outweighed 
every private consideration, he refused to leave. There were four candidates, 
and he was chosen by a large majority over all his competitors. " Your friends," 
wrote one of his correspondents, " have been very sincere, so that you have received 
more votes than any other candidate. Colonel Ward sat on the bench and repre- 
sented you, and he was carried round the town in the midst of a general applause, 
and huzzaing for Colonel Washington." This was a gratifying result for the young 
commander, for he had received the support of the people among whom, in the most 
trying times, he had been compelled to exercise strong military restraint. 

This election cost Colonel Washington thirty-nine pounds and six shillings, Vir- 
ginia currency. "Among the items of charge which have been preserved," says 
Sparks, " are a hogshead and a barrel of punch, thirty-five gallons of wine, forty- 
three gallons of strong beer, cider, and dinner for his friends." 

Colonel Washington was a member of the house of burgesses for about fifteen 
years. Soon after the meeting of that body, in January 1757, when Washington 
appeared there as a member for the first time, it was resolved to return thanks to 
him for the distinguished service he had rendered his country in tlie field. Upon 
Speaker Robinson devolved the pleasing duty. " As soon as Colonel Washington 
took his seat," says Mr. Wirt, " Mr. Robinson, in obedience to the order, and fol- 
lowing the impulse of his own generous and grateful heart, discharged the duty with 
great dignity, but with such warmth of coloring, and strength of expression, as 
entirely to confound the young hero. He rose to express his acknowledgments for 
tlie honor, but such was his trepidation and confusion, that he could not give dis- 
tinct utterance to a single syllable. He blushed, stammered, and trembled for a 



154 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

tourt'^ and Eclen,f the courts of Williamsburg J and An- 
napolis§ displayed as much of the polish of high life as was 

second ; when the speaker relieved liim by a stroke of address that would have done 
honor to Louis the Fourteenth in his proudest and happiest moment. ' Sit down 
Mr. Washington,' said he, with a conciliatory smile, 'your modesty is equal to 
your valor, and that surpasses the power of any language that I possess.' " 

* Lord Botetourt, one of the kinij's lords of the bedchamber, arrived in Virginia 
as governor of the colony, in the autumn of 17G8. He was the successor of Governor 
Fauquier. He was an Englishman; upright, honorable, benevolent and accom- 
plished. When asked by the king, on receiving his appointment, " When will you 
be ready to go ?" he promptly replied, " To-night." His manners were very con- 
ciliatory. For this reason Junius described him as a " cringing, bowing, fawning, 
and sword-bearing courtier ;" and Horace Walpole said, on his departure, " if his 
graces don't captivate the Virginians, he will enrage them to fury ; for I take all his 
douceur to be enamelled on iron." Like others of his class. Lord Botetourt had 
underrated the people he had consented to govern ; and his ostentatious display of 
vice-regal pomp, when proceeding to open the Virginia assembly, for the first time, 
disgusted them. He was, on the whole, one of the best of the royal governors ever 
vouchsafed to Virginia, and his memory is cherished with affection in the Old 
Dominion. On the green, in front of William and Mary College, at Williamsburg, 
is a statue of Lord Botetourt.' He died in 1771, and was succeeded by Lord 
Dunmore. 

t Sir Robert Eden was the last of the royal governors of Maryland, and suc- 
ceeded Governor Sharpc in 1768. He was a very amiable gentleman, and at the 
commencement of revolutionary movements against royal authority, he was dis- 
posed to be very conciliatory toward the people of Maryland. But, as royal gover- 
nor, he was compelled to obey the commands of his king and his ministers, and in 
so doing, he offended the republican sentiment of his colony, and was obliged to 
abdicate. He returned after the war to recover his estates, and died at Annapolis, 
in September 1784. His wife was sister to Lord Baltimore. 

J Williamsburg, as we have elsewhere remarked, was made the capital of Vir- 
ginia at an early day, and the governors held courts there in a style approaching 
that of royalty itself, only on a smaller scale. The remains of the " palace" of Lord 
Dunmore may yet be seen. These consist of the two wings. The whole was con- 
structed of brick. The centre portion was accidentally destroyed by fire, while oc- 
cupied by the French troops, immediately after the surrender of Cornwallis, at York- 
town. It was seventy-four feet long and sixty-eight feet wide, and occupied the site 
of the old palace of Governor Spottswood, at the beginning of the eighteenth cen- 
tury. Attached to the palace were three hundred and sixty acres of land, beautifully 
laid out in gardens, parks, carriage-ways, and a bowling-green. 

§ Annapolis, on the Chesapeake, at the mouth of the Severn, became the seat ol 
the government of Maryland in the year 1694, when all the records and offices were 
moved there from. St. Marys, the first capital. There, as at Williamsburg, was 
found the most polished society ; and of so much importance were these two places 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VEENON. 155 

to be found in the larger cities of Europe, with far less of 
their corruptions and debaucheries. It was the custom 
for gentlemen of fortune to have their town houses du- 
ring the sessions of the legislature, where they lived in 
great splendor and hospitality. Colonel Washington was 
of this number. His personal attractions, not less than 
his early renown in arms, made him a subject of much 
interest to the Europeans, who were frequent visiters to 
the capitals of Virginia and Maryland. Straight as an 
Indian arrow, he was easily distinguished in the gay 
crowds which appeared at the palaces of the vice-kings, 
by a something in his air and manner which bespoke no 
ordinary man. His lower limbs, being formed mathe- 
matically straight, he walked, as it were, on parallel 
lines, while his mode of placing and taking up his feet 
resembled the step of precision and care so remarkable 
in the aboriginal children of the forest. He might be 
termed rather a silent than a speaking member of the 
house of burgesses, although he sometimes addressed the 
chair, and was listened to with attention and respect, 
while the excellence of his judgment was put in requisi- 
tion on all committees, either of important general or 
local policy.* 

considered, in point of social character, tiiat the first theatrical performances ever 
given in America, by a regular company, were at those two places. The toleration 
extended to such amusements by the Anglican church, then the established church in 
Virginia and Maryland, may have had some influence in causing Hallam and his 
company first to try their fortunes there. It was in 1752 and 1753 that the perform- 
ances were first presented in those two cities ; and it is on record, that Washington, 
who was very fond of dramatic entertainments, attended them at both places. 

* So in the continental Congress, of which Washington was a member in 1774 
and 1775. He had no ability for an extemporary speaker, and did not there engage 
in the public debates. He was an excellent counsellor, and was assiduous in his at- 
tendance at Carpenter's hall whenever the Congress was in session. Patrick Henry, 
when asked, on his return home from the Congress, whom he considered the greatest 



156 EECOLLECTIOXS OF WASHINGTON. 

When Colonel W.asliington first resided at Mount Ver- 
non, both the mansion-house and estate were inconsider- 
able. All the embellishments of the house and grounds 
are owing to his creative hand. Prior to the War for In- 
dependence, he was much attached to the pleasures of 
the chase, and is described as a bold and fearless rider. 
He kept hounds for a short time after the Revolution, but 
declined hunting altogether about 1787 or '88. 

He was never disposed to conviviality, but liked the 
cheerful converse of the social board. He indulged in 
no games of chance, except in the olden times, when re- 
quired to make up a party at whist, in playing for a 
trifle ; although, for many years, play of all kinds was 
unknown in his household.* After his retirement from 
public life, all the time which he could spare from his 
library, was devoted to the improvement of his estates, 
and the elegant and tasteful arrangement of his house 
and grounds. He was his own surveyor,-]- and the dis- 

man in that body, replied : "If you speak of eloquence, Mr. Rutledge, of South Caro- 
lina, is by far the greatest orator ; but if you speak of solid information and sound 
judgment, Colonel Washington is unquestionably the greatest man on that floor." 

* During his younger married life, Washington indulged in all lawful amuse- 
ments. His home was a gay one, and almost every day he had company at dinner. 
" Would anj' person believe," he says in his diary, in 1768, " that, with a hundred and 
one cows actually reported at a late enumeration of the cattle, I should still be 
obliged to buy butter for my family 1" The hunting days, which occurred fre- 
quently, generally ended in a dinner at Belvoii-, the seat of the Fairfaxes, a little 
lower on the Potomac, or at Mount Vernon — more frequently at the latter. The. 
company usually staid all night, and bad weather might keep them there. Wash- 
ington was indifferent to games, but on such occasions he resorted to them to 
amuse his guests. On one of these, he records in his diary : " At home all day at 
cards ; it snowing." 

t A fiicsimile of the record of one of the latest of his surveys, is presented in this 
work. Surveying was Washington's earliest occupation for gain, he having been 
employed in that business by Lord Fairfax, who owned immense tracts of land in 
the valleys beyond the Blue Ridge. Washington set out on his first surveying 
expedition, on account of Lord Fairfax, in March, 1748, just one month from the 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 157 

position and appearance of his farms, gave evident proofs 
that the genius of useful improvement had directed its 
energies with beneficial, as well as ornamental effects. 

As a master of slaves, General Washington was con 
sistent, as in every other relation of his meritorious life 
They were comfortably lodged, fed, and clothed ; required 
to do a full and fair share of duty ; well cared for in sick- 
ness and old age, and kept in strict and proper discipline. 
These, we humbly conceive, comprise all the charities of 
slavery. To his old servants, where long and faithful 
services rendered them worthy of attachment and esteem, 
he was most kind. His huntsman and Revolutionary at- 
tendant, Will Lee, commonly called Billy, was specially 
provided for, and survived his master a good many years. 
Will had been a stout active man, and a famous horse- 
man, but, from accident, was a cripple for many years 
before his death, which occurred at a very advanced age.* 
This ancient follower, both in the chase and war, formed 
a most interesting relic of the chief, and received con- 
siderable largesses from the numerous visiters to Mount 
Vernon. The slaves w^ere left to be emancipated at the 

day on which he was sixteen years of age. I have before me his original drawings 
of the plan for laying out the grounds around the Mount Vernon mansion, made 
after his return from the army and retirement to private life, in 1784. A particular 
account of these may be found in a volume entitled, " Mount Vernon, and its Asso- 
ciations," published in 1859, by W. A. Townsend & Company, New York. 
■ * I visited Mount Vernon in October, 18,53, where I saw an old mulatto, named 
Westford, who had been a resident there since August, 1801. He was raised in the 
family of Judge Bushrod Washington, who came into possession of Mount Vernon, 
by inheritance, after the death of Mrs. Washington. Westford knew Billy well. His 
master having left him a house, and a pension of one hundred and fifty dollars a year, 
Billy became a spoiled child of fortune. He was quite intemperate at times, and 
finally delirium tremens, with all its horrors, seized him. Westford frequently re- 
lieved him on such occasions, by bleeding him. One morning, a little more than 
thirty years ago, Westford was sent for to bring Billy out of a fit. The blood would 
not flow. Billy was dead ! 



158 EECOLLECTIGXS OF AVASIIDsGTON. 

death of Mrs. Washington ; but it Avas found necessary 
(Jov prudential reasons) to give them their freedom in one 
year after the general's decease. Although many of 
them, with a view to their liberation, had been instructed 
in mechanic trades, yet they succeeded very badly as free- 
men : so true is the axiom, " that the hour which makes 
man a slave, takes half his worth away." 

Bishop, an English soldier, formed an interesting re- 
miniscence of the war of '55. He belonged to Brad- 
dock's own regiment ; and, on account of possessing su- 
perior intelligence, was detailed as a body-servant, to 
accompany that ill-fated commander on the expedition 
to Fort du Quesne.* Bishop firmly believed in the 
Providence which shielded the provincial colonel, in the 
memorable battle of Monongahela, and observed, he was 
the only mounted officer left. The enemy knew him 
well, from their having felt him severely, the year be- 

* On acr-ount of bounrlary disputes, at about the miridle of the last century, the 
French and English in America, engaged in a war, and finally hostilities between 
the two nations were officially declared. The war commenced in the Ohio region. 
Englishmen attempted to build a fort at the forks of the Ohio, upon territory claimed 
by the French. The latter, aided by Indians, drove the English off, finished the 
fort, and named it Du Quesne, in honor of the governor-general of Canada. Against 
this fort General Braddock, an Irish officer of considerable military renown, led an 
expedition in the year 1755. After much toil and difficulty he reached the Monon- 
gahela early in the month of July. Washington, with the rank of colonel, accom- 
panied him as aid. On the ninth, they suddenly fell into an Indian ambush, and a 
terrible encounter ensued between French and Indians on one side, and English 
and provincial soldiers on the other. Washington urged Braddock to fight, as the 
Indians did, or ratiier, as the provincials were accustomed to, but that general 
would not swerve from the rules of European tactics. The consequence was, a ter- 
rible slaughter of his troops, and a defeat. Braddock himself was mortally wounded, 
and the remnant of his army was saved by the skill and gallant conduct of Colonel .j 
Washington. He was the only mounted officer who, on that da}', was not wounded. 
He had two horses shot under him, and four bullets passed through his coat. "By 
the all-powerful dispensations of Providence," he wrote to his brother, " I have been 
protected bej'ond all human probability or expectation." 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 159 

fore at the afKxir of the Meadows f and the provincial 
military being far more obnoxious to the French and 
Indians than the European troops, from the marksman- 
ship of the rangers, and their intimate knowledge of the 
modes of forest warfare, the fire of the enemy became 
particularly directed against the devoted young warrior, 
whom they afterward termed " the spirit-protected man," 
destined to "become the chief of nations," and wdio 
" could not die in battle." The hat worn on that event- 
ful day, and which was pierced by two balls, was at 
Mount Vernon, and both seen and handled by several 
persons, long within our remembrance ; yet, strange to 
say, it was no where to be found on the demise of the 
chief Another and invaluable relict was also missing ; 
we mean the sword of service Avhich was worn in action 
in the War for Independence. It was described to us, by 
one who had often buckled it to the hero's side, as being 
a kind of hanger ; and we have an indistinct recollection 
of having been told in the family, that it was given to 
General Greene at the close of the war. If so, it surely 
could not have been more worthily bestowed. Upon 
i mentioning; these circumstances to General Andrew 
j Jackson, he Avas pleased to say that he would make 
I inquiry among the descendants of Greene, who, if they 

* When, by order of Governor Dinwiddle, Major Washington, in 1754, was 
I marching toward the forks of the Ohio, he was informed that the French had driven 
j the English away, and that a strong force of French and Indians were on their march 
\ to attack him. He prudently wheeled, marched back to a place called the Great 
I Meadows, and there hastily erected a stockade, and called it Fort Necessity. Again, 
] on the death of the leader of the expedition, when the whole command devolved oa 
j Major Washington, he advanced with four hundred men. He was soon advised of 
.1 the approach of a much larger number of the enemy, and he fell back to Fort Neces- 
j sity at the Great Meadows. There, on the third of July, he w.as besieged by about 
I fifteen hundred foes, and on the morning of the fourth surrendered. It was upon hon 
jj orable terms; and Washington and his troops were allowed to return to Virginia. 



160 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

possess, will, no doubt, most dearly prize so valued a gift 
as the Sword of the RevoMion.^ 

* This was written in Februaiy, 1827. That sword, with Franklin's staff, is pre- 
served in a glass case, with other personal mementoes of Washington, in the modcl- 
hall of the patent-office at Washington city. The handle is of ivory, colored a pale 
green, and wound spirally at wide intervals with silver wire. It was manufactured 
by J. Bailey, Fishkill, Duchess county. New York, and has the maker's name en- 
graven upon the hilt. The belt is of white leather, silver mounted, and was in the 
old French and Indian war. It bears a silver plate, on which is engraved, " 1757." 

The long black staff grouped with the sword, was bequeathed to Washington by 
Doctor Franklin, in the following clause of the codicil to his will : — 

"My fine crab-tree walking-stick, with a gold head curiously wrought in the form 
of the cap of liberty, I give to my friend, and the friend of mankind. General Wash- 
ington. If it were a sceptre, he has merited it, and would become it. It was a 
present to me from that excellent woman, Madame De Forbach, the dowager-duchess 
of Deux-Ponts, connected with some verses which should go with it." 

Of these relics, our lyric poet, George P. Morris, has sweetly sung in the fol- 
lowing ode, called " The Sword and the Staff." 

" The sword of the Hero ! 

The staff of the Sage ! 
Whose valor and wisdom 

Are stamped on the age ! 
Time-hallowed mementoes 

Of those who have riven 
The sceptre from tyrants, 

' The lightning from heaven. 

" This weapon, Freedom ! 

Was drawn by thy son. 
And it never was sheathed 

Till the battle was won ! 
No stain of dishonor 

Upon it we see ! 
'Twas never surrendered-- 

Except to the free ! 

"While Fame claims the hero 

And patriot sage, 
Their names to emblazon 

On History's page. 
No holier relics 

Will Liberty hoard. 
Than Franklin's staff, guarded 

By Washington's sword." 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 161 

At the commencement of hostilities, in 1775, Bishop 
being too old for active service, was left at home in 
charge of the manufacturing establishments of the house- 
hold, Avherein the veteran would flourish his cane, ex- 
acting as perfect obedience as though he had been a 
commanding officer on parade. A comfortable house 
had been built for him ; he had married ; and, looking no 
more toward his native land, he was contented to pass 
the remainder of his days on the domain of his patron, 
where he rested from labor, in the enjoyment of every 
possible ease and indulgence — the reward of his long 
and faithful services. In his comfortable homestead, and 
hoary with age, he would- delight the young with tales 
of fearful interest of the Indian war; while, his own 
conflicts ended, and himself at peace with all the world, 
he feebly trimmed the lamp of life, which, having burned 
for more than eighty years, could but for a little while 
longer be kept from expiring. 

Notwithstanding his perfect reverence for his patron, 
this old soldier would sometimes, presuming on the privi- 
lege of age and long services, chafe his protector on 
points of expediency, though never on those of obedience. 
The general would assume a lofty tone, saying, "It is 
very well, sir ; if you are at length tired of my service, 
you are at perfect liberty to depart." The ancient fol- 
lower of Braddock, however, knew his man, and knew 
exactly what best to do ; so he would wisely become 
I silent, and the storm which appeared to be brooding 
would quickly pass away, then returning sunshine, cheer- 
I ed with the warmth of its kindness the veteran of '55.=-= 

* See note on page 158. Braddock had five horses shot under hira before re 
ceiving his mortal wound. Bishop was in close attendance upon his master all 

11 



162 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The Washington family were subject to hereditary 
gout. The chief never experienced a pang. His tem- 
perance, and the energetic employment of both his body 
and mind, seemed to forbid the approach of a disease, 
■which severely afflicted several of his nearest kindred. 
His illnesses were of rare occurrence, but were particu- 
larly severe. His aversion to the use of medicine was 
extreme ; and, even when in great suffering, it was 
only by the entreaties of his lady, and the respectful, yet 
beseeching look of his oldest friend and companion in 
arms (Doctor James Craik), that he could be prevailed 
upon to take the slightest preparation of medicine.* 

General "Washington, during the whole of both his 
public and private life, was a very early riser ; indeed, 

the while, and assisted in carrying the wounded general from the field. He was con- 
veyed, first in a tumbrel, then on horseback, and finally by his soldiers on a litter, 
in the flight townrd Fort Cumberland. He was attended by Dr. James Craik, the 
life-long friend of Washington, and also by Colonel Washington himself. Braddock 
died on the night of the fifteenth. Just before his deatii, he commended Bishop, who 
had served him faithfully, to the protection of Colonel Washington, who, two hours 
afterward, read the impressive funeral service of the Anglican church over his grave, 
by the light of torches. It was a little past midnight when they laid their com- 
mander in a grave, dug in the middle of the road, to prevent his body being dis- 
covered and treated with indignity by the Indians. 

* Colonel Washington's health suffered much during the campaigns of 1757 and 
1758. Late in the autumn of 1757, he was compelled to leave his command and go 
home, severely suffering from dysentery. His malady, which had been wearing 
upon him for some time, increased, and Doctor Craik warned him that his life 
was in danger. He went home to Mount Vernon, where his disease settled into a 
fever, from which he did not recover in less than four months. He endeavored to 
go to Williamsburg on urgent business, in February following, but could not ; and 
toward the close of that month he wrote to Colonel Stanwix, saying, " I have never 
been able to return to my command, since I wrote to you last, my disorder, at times, 
returning obstinately upon me, in spite of the efforts of all the sons of -^sculapius, 
whom I have hitherto consulted. At certain periods I have been reduced to great 
extremity, and have now too much reason to apprehend my approaching decay 
[consumption], being visited with several symptoms of such disease." Ho was then 
twenty-six years of age. As we shall hereafter observe, he was very dangerously 
ill while president of the republic. 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 163 

in the maternal mansion, at which his first habits 
were formed, the character of a sluggard was abhorred. 
Whether as chief magistrate, or the retired citizen, we 
find this man of method and labor seated in his library 
from one to two hours before day, in winter, and at day- 
break in summer. We wonder at the amazing amount 
of work which he performed. Nothing but a method the 
most remarkable and exemplary, could have enabled him 
to accomplish such a world of labor, an amount which 
' might have given pretty full employment to half a dozen 
ordinary, and not idle men, all their lives. When we 
consider the volume of his official papers — his vast 
foreign, public, and private correspondence — we are 
(Scarcely able to believe that the space of one man's life 
Ishould have comprehended the doing of so many things, 
land doing them so well. 

J His toilette was soon made. A single servant pre- 
jpared his clothes, and laid them in readiness. He also 
combed and tied his hair.* He shaved and dressed him- 
l^elf, but giving very little of his precious time to matters 
iof that sort, though remarkable for the neatness and pro- 
priety of his apparel. His clothes were made after the 
pld-fashioned cut, of the best, though plainest materials.f 

* In those days the hair was left to grow long, and was tied up in a long bunch 

ith a ribbon, behind, in a form called a queue. It was the universal fashion. Powder 

livas also used for the hair, which gave it a frosted appearance. This was put on 

fith a puff-ball, usually made of cotton yarn, which, with the powder, was carried in 
dressed buckskin pouch. 
!;j t It was the practice in Virginia, previous to the Revolution, for the planters to 
|||end to London for all articles in common use, that could not be manufactured as 
i|vell at home, such as agricultural implements, saddles, bridles, harness, and wearing 
j«pparel. Washington was in the habit of sending to his agent in London lists of ar- 
jlicles that he desired for himself and family. He gave the names, ages, sizes, and 
i^eneral description of those for whom wearing apparel was needed. In an order 
IV'TA to Richard Washington, in 1761, he says, after referring to an invoice of clothes 



164 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

When president of the United States, the style of his 
household and equipage corresponded with the dignity 
of his exalted station, though avoiding as much as was pos- 
sible everything like show or parade. The expenses of 
his presidency, over and above the salary of government, 
absorbed the proceeds of the sale of a very considerable 
estate.* 

already sent: "As they are designed for wearing apparel for myself, I have com- 
mitted the choice of them to your foncy, having the best opinion of your taste. I 
want neither lace nor embroidery. Plain clothes, with gold,or silver buttons, if worn 
in genteel dress, are all that I desire. Whether it be the fault of the tailor or of the 
measure sent, I can not say, but, certain it is, my clothes have never fitted mc well. 
I enclose a measure, and, for a further direction, I think it not amiss to add, that my 
stature is six feet ; otherwise rather slender than corpulent." He was six feet two 
inches in height, according to the best authorities. 

Although Wasliington and his family were plain in their persons, they lived at 
home, and appeared abroad, not unlike the English aristocracy at that time. When 
abroad, he always appeared on horseback, with fine equipments, accompanied by 
Bishop. His stable was well furnished with thoroughbred horses ; and for Mrs. 
Washington and her lady-visiters, he kept a chariot and four horses, with black pos- 
tillions in livery, and these frequently excited the admiration of travellers and dwellers 
upon the road from Mount Vernon to Alexandria, or to the neighboring estates. 

The following order, sent to his London agent for out-of-door equipage, will give 
an idea of the appearance of Washington when on the road : — 

" 1 Man's riding saddle, hogskin seat, large plated stirrups, and everything com- 
plete. Double-reined bridle and Pelham bit, plated. 

" A very neat and fashionable Newmarket saddle-cloth. 

" A large and best portmanteau, saddle, bridle, and pillion. 

" Cloak-bag ; surcingle; checked saddle-cloth, holsters, &c. 

"A riding-frock of a handsome drab-colored broadcloth, with plain double-gut 
bHtions. 

" A riding waistcoat of superfine scarlet cloth and gold lace, with buttons like 
those of the coat. 

" A blue surtout-coat. 

" A neat switch-whip, silver cap. 

" Black velvet cap for servant." 

The ladies in those days rode much on horseback (usually upon ponies), followca 
by black servants. The gayest of them wore scarlet cloth riding-habits. 

* The salary of the president was then, as now, twenty-five thousand dollars pel 
annum. The sale of that "considerable estate," which was chiefly wild land, is al- 
luded to in Washington's letter to Lawrence Lewis, printed in the Memoir of the; 
author of these Recollections, ante, page 47. i 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 165 

The president nevei appeared in military costume, 
unless to receive his brethren of the Cincinnati, or at re- 
views * He then wore the old opposition colors of Eng- 
land, and the regimental dress of the volunteer corps 
which he commanded prior to the Revolution.^ With 
the exception of the brilliant epaulettes (we believe a 
present from General Lafayette), and the diamond order 
of the Cincinnati, presented by the seamen of the French 
fleet, our allies in the War for Independence, J the uni- 
form of the commander-in-chief of the army and navy, 
under the Constitution, was as plain as blue and buff 
could make it. The cocked hat, with the black ribbon 
cockade, was the only type of the heroic time which ap- 
pended to the chief during his civil magistracy; in all 
other respects, he seemed studiously to merge the mili- 
tary into the civil characteristics of his public life. 

About sunrise. General Washington invariably visited 
and inspected his stables. He was very fond of horses, 

* A full account of the Societijofthe Cincinnati, of which Washington was the first 

president-general, may be found in another part of this work, 
t When the sessions of the first continental Congress closed, the whole country, 

alive to the apprehension that war would soon be kindled, was filled with military 

preparations. When Washington returned to Mount Vernon, he found the inde- 
I pendent companies throughout the province waiting for the voice of his experience, 

to teach them how to prepare for the conflict. He coveted the sweets of rural and 
I domestic life, but duty bade him relinquish all for the good of his country. A few 
\ daj-s after his arrival home, the Independent Company of Cadets of Frince William 

county, a well-equipped corps, whose motto was Aut liber aut nullus, solicited him 
j to take command of them, as a field-officer. They had appointed a committee to 
(wait on him with the invitation, and to request him to "direct the fashion of their 
! uniform, and that they also acquaint him with the motto of their company, which is 
I to be fixed on their colors." Other companies offered him the same honor. He 
I yielded, and reviewed the volunteer corps, which assembled at various places, alwavs 
I wearing, on such occasions, the costume of a Virginia colonel of the period. It 
I was in that costume that the elder Peale painted him, in the picture now at Arling- 

|ton house, a copy of which is given in this volume. 

li X See chapter containing an account of the " Surrender of Yorktown." 



166 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

and his equipages were always of a superior order. The 
horses which he rode, in the War for Independence, were 
said to be superb. We have a perfect remembrance of 
the charger which bore him in the greatest of his tri- 
umphs, when he received the sword of the vanquished, 
on the ever-memorable nineteenth October, 1781.=^ It 
was a chestnut, with a white face and legs, and was called 
Nelson, after the patriotic governor of Virginia.^ Far 
different was the fate of this favorite horse of Washing- 
ton, from that of " the high-mettled racer." When the 
chief had relinquished his seat upon its back, after the | 
Avar was over, it was never mounted more, but cropped 
the herbage in summer, was housed and well cared for in 
winter, often caressed by the master's hand, and died of 
old age at Mount Vernon, many years after the Revolu- 
tion. 

The library and a visit to the stables occupied the 
morning till the hour of breakfast. This meal was with 
out change to him, whose habits were regular, even to 
matters which others are so apt to indulge themselves 
in to endless variety. Indian cakes, honey, and tea, 
formed this temperate repast.J On rising from the table, 

* See chapter on the " Surrender of Yorktown." 

t See a sketch of the life and services of this gentleman in a future chapter. 

X This abstemiousness appears to have been a marked exception to a general rule. 
The Reverend Andrew Burnabj-, who travelled quite extensively in America, in the 
^-ears 1759 and 1760, and visited Mount Vernon two or three times during the first 
year of Washington's married life, says in a note, "In several parts of Virginia, the 
ancient custom of eating meat at breakfast still continues. At the top of the table, 
where the lady of the house presides, there is constantly tea and coffee; but the rest 
of the table is garnished out with roast /owls, ham, venison, game, and other dainties. 
Even at Williamsburg, it is the custom to have a plate of cold ham upon the table; 
and there is scarcely a Virginian lady who breakfasts without it." 

Speaking of Mount Vernon, Mr. Burnaby says : "This place is the property of jl 
Colonel Washington, and truly deserving of its owner. The house is most beauti i| 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 167 

if there were guests (and it was seldom otherwise), books 
and papers were offered for their amusement ; they were 
requested to take good care of themselves, and the illus- 
trious farmer proceeded to the daily tour of his agri- 
cultural concerns* He rode upon his farms entirely 
unattended, opening his gates, pulling down and putting 
up his fences, as he passed, visiting his laborers at their 
work, inspecting all the operations of his extensive agri- 
cultural establishments with a careful eye, directing use- 
ful improvements, and superintending them in their prog- 
ress. He introduced many and valuable foreign as well 
as domestic modes of improved husbandry, showing, by 
experiment, their practical utility, and peculiar adapta- 
tion to our system of rural affairs ; and, by his zeal and 
ability, "gave a speed to" the plough," and a generous 
impulse to the cause of agricultural and domestic econo- 
my — those important sources of national wealth, indus- 
try, and independence.'!' 

fully situated upon a very high hill on the banks of the Potomac, and commands a 
noble prospect of water, of cliifs, of woods, and plantations. The river is near two 
miles broad, though two hundred from the mouth, and divides the dominions of Vir- 
ginia from Maryland." 

* Never was hospitality dispensed with a more generous and kindly spirit. The 
translator of De Chastellux's travels in North America, at the close of the Revo- 
lution, writing of the mistress of tiiat mansion, says : "Your apartments were your 
house ; the servants of the house were yours ; and, while every inducement was held 
out to bring you into the general society of the drawing-room, or at the table, it 
rested with yourself to be served or not with everything in your own chamber." 
t Washington raised large quantities of tobacco, wheat, and Indian corn ; and he 
j aimed to have everything upon his estates of the best quality. So noted for excel- 
I lence was everything bearing his brand, that a barrel of flour stamped " George Wash- 
I ingfon, Mount Vernon," was exempted from the customary inspection in the West 
I India ports. In his Diary, under date of twenty-second January, 1790, while he was 
j president of the United States, and residing in New York, is the following entry : 
I " Called in my ride on the Baron dc Poellnitz, to see tlie oi)eration of his (Winlaw's) 
i ihr.nsbing-machine. The eflTect was, the heads of the wheat being separated from 
the straw, as much of tiie first was run through the mill in 1 5 minutes as made half 



168 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The tour of the farms might average from ten to 
fifteen miles per day. An anecdote occurs to us at this 
moment, which, as it embraces a Eevolutionary worthy, a 
long-tried and valued friend of the chief, and is descrip- 
tive of WasJiington on his farm, we shall, without apology, 
present it to our readers. 

We were accosted, while hunting, by an elderly stran- 
ger, who inquired whether the general was to be found 
at the mansion house, or whether he had gone to visit 
his estate. We replied, that he was abroad, and gave 
directions as to the route the stranger was to pursue, ob- 
serving, at the same time, " You will meet, sir, with an 
old gentleman riding alone, in ])lain drah' clothes, a hroad-hrimmed 
ivhite hat, a hickory sivitch in his hand, and carrying an tim- 
hrella ivith a long staff, tvhich is attached to his saddle-how — tJmt 
person, sir, is General Washington P' The stranger, much 
amused at our description, observed, with a good hu- 
mored smile : — 

a bushel of clean wheat. Allowing 8 working hours in the 24, this would yield 16 
bushels per day. Two boys are sufficient to turn the wheel, feed the mill, and re- 
move the thrashed grain after it has passed through it. Two men were unable, by 
winnowing, to clear the wheat as it passed through the mill, but a common Dutch 
fan, with the usual attendance, would be more than sufficient to do it. The grain 
passes through without bruising, and is well separated from the chaff. Women, 
or boys of 12 or 14 years of age, are fully adequate to the management of the mill 
or thrashing-machine. Upon the whole, it appears to be an easier, more expedi- 
tious, and much cleaner way of getting out grain than by the usual mode of thrashing ; 
and vastly to be preferred to treading, which is hurtful to horses, filthy to the wheat, 
and not more expeditious, considering the numbers that are employed in the process 
from the time the head is begun to be formed until the grain has passed finally 
through the fan." 

In December previous, Washington, in a letter to the Baron de Pocllnitz (who was 
the inventor of several agricultural machines, and had a small farm on York island, in 
the vicinity of Murray hill), had proposed to take some occasion of " seeing the man- 
ner in which the thrashing-machine operated." This was the occasion noted in his 
Diary. From some intimations elsewhere, it is quite certain that he sent one of 
these machines to his general overseer at Mount Vernon. 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 169 

" Thank je, thank ye, young gentleman ; I think, if I 
fall in with the general, I shall be apt to know him." 

At dinner, we had the pleasure of being introduced to 
Colonel Meade,* who had been aid-de-camp to the com- 
mander-in-chief in the war of the Revolution. The um- 
brella was not used by Washington as an article of 
luxury, for luxuries were to him known only by name. 
Being naturally of a very fair complexion, his skin was 
liable to be affected by the influence of the sun. This 
umbrella, just as it was- when last he laid it down, never 
again to require its friendly shade, we have had the good 
fortune to preserve for a quarter of a centur}^,^ and also 
the happiness to present it the patriarch of La Grange, 
in whose possession it will long be treasured as the rel- 
ique of his paternal chief, and as an appropriate memo- 
rial of the modern Cincinnatus. J 

Precisely at a quarter before three, the industrious 
farmer always returned, dressed, and dined at three 
o'clock. At this meal he ate heartily, but was not par- 
ticular in his diet, with the exception of fish, of which 
he was excessively fond. He partook sparingly of 
desert, drank a home-made beverage, and from four to 
five glasses of Madeira wine. 'When the cloth was 
removed, with old-fashioned courtesy, he drank to the 
health of every person present, and then gave his toast, 
his only toast — "All our friends" — than which a nobler 
or a kindlier sentiment never was pledged at the board 
of social friendship, or " brayed out with the trumpet's 
triumphs," at the carousals of a king. 

* Colonel Richard K. Meade, father of Bishop Meade, of Virginia. 
t Tliis written on the twenty-second of February, 1827. 

t Mr. Custis presented the umbrella to General Lafayette when he was in thi8 
country as the nation's guest, in the years 1S24 and '25. 



170 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

While on the subject of toasts, we will mention an- 
other. The late Colonel Cropper, of Accomac, was a 
captain in the ninth Virginia regiment of the line, which 
formed part of the southern division, under Greene, and 
covered the retreat of our discomfitted army at the battle 
of Brandywine. On the evening of that hard-fought 
day, Cropper marched the remains of his comjDany into 
Chestei* having his handkerchief fastened to a ramrod, 
in place of a flag.'-' After serving his country with fidelity 
and distinction. Colonel Cropper a-etired to his estate on 
the Eastern shore, where he lived to an advanced age. 
This worthy veteran, like his general, had but one toast, 
which he gave every day, and to all companies ; it was, 
" God bless General Washington." Toasts are supposed 
to convey the feelings and wishes of our hearts ; and if 
ever an aspiration, warm and direct from the heart, de- 
served to find favor with " heaven's chancery " on high, 
it was when, with pious fervor, this old soldier's prayer 
implored a blessing upon his revered commander. 

The afternoon was usually devoted to the library. At 

* A British army, under General Sir William Howe, landed from a British fleet 
commanded by his brother, Ricliard Earl Howe, a few miles below Elkton, on the 
shores of Chesapeake bay, toward the close of August, 1777. Washington, with the 
American army, marched southward from Philadelphia to oppose Howe's progress into 
the country, and advanced some di;;tance beyond the Brandywine creek. When tiie 
British approached, he was compelled to fall back to the eastern side of that stream, 
and near Chad's ford, he made a disposition of his forces to oppose the passngc of the 
enemy. Philadelphia was the prize for which Howe was pressing, and AVashington 
resolved to do all in his power to keep it out of his hands. By a stealthy move- 
ment, Cornwallis, under cover of a fog, marched up the west side of the Brandy- 
wine with a large force, crossed, and fell suddenly upon the right wing of the Amer- 
ican army, under General Sullivan. A severe contest ensued. Soon afterward, 
Knyphausen, the Hessian general, crossed Chad's ford and attacked the American 
centre, and after a hot battle, the republicans were driven from the field, and fled to 
Chester that night. Tlie next morning they continued their retreat toward Phila- 
delphia, and encamped near Germantown, where, soon afterward, a severe engage- 
ment occurred, which is described in another chapter. 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 171 

night, his labors over, the venerated citizen would join 
his family and friends at the tea-table, and enjoy their 
society for several hours. He took no supper, and about 
nine o'clock retired to bed. ' When w^ithout company, he 
frequently read to his family extracts from the new pub- 
lications of the day ; and, on Sunday, sermons and other 
sacred writings.'*' He read with distinctness and j)i'eci- 
sion, though with a voice, the tones of which had been 
considerably broken by a pulmonary affection in early 
life, and which, when -greatly excited, produced a labor- 
ing of the chest. He would frequently, when sitting 
with his family, appear absent ; his lips would move, his 
hand be raised, and he would evidently seem under the 
influence of thoughts, which had nothing to do with the 
quiet scene around him. This peculiarity is readily 
accounted for, since it must be no very easy matter for 
one who so long had borne the cares of public life, at 
once to lay aside all thoughts for others, and become 
content with individual concerns. 

In winter, when stress of weather prevented his taking 
his usual exercise, he was in the habit of walking for an 
hour in the eastern portico of the mansion, before retir- 
ing to rest. As that portico is more than ninety feet in 
length, this walk would comprise several miles.f 

* la the library at Mount Vernon, there are several volumes of sermons, and 
other religious books, written by old English divines. In one of these, written by 
Sir Matthew Hale, are the autographs of the two wives of Washington's father, 
Jane Washington and Mary Washington — the latter (the mother of the general) 
wrL ten under the former. 

1 In a letter to Mr Eumney (a gentleman about to depart for England), in 
which Washington desires him to make some inquiries there about certain kinds of 
marble, with which he would like to pave the floor of the portico, he says : " The 
piazza, or colonade, for which this is wanted as a floor, is ninety-two feet eight 
inches, by twelve feet eight inches, within the margin or border that surrounds it." 



172 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Thus, in the seldom-varied routine of useful industry, 
tempercate enjoyment, and the heartfelt gratifications of 
domestic felicity, sped the latter days of the Father of 
his Country ; and oh ! it was delightful to behold this 
" time-honored man," the race of whose glory was run, who 
had reached the goal of all his most earnest desires, and 
obtained a reward for all his toils, in the contemplation of 
the freedom and happiness of a rising empire, resting 
from his mighty labors, amid the tranquil retirement of 
Mount Vernon. 

The sedentary occupations of a president of the United 
States necessarily limited the opportunities for active 
exercise. These were principally enjoyed in occasional 
rides to the country, and in frequent walks to his watch- 
maker's, in Second street, for the purpose of regulating 
his watch by the time-keeper.* As he passed along, 
often would mothers bring their children to look on the 
paternal chief, yet not a Avord was heard of president of 
the United States : the little innocents were alone " taught 
to lisp the name of Washington." He was rather par- 
tial to children ; their infantine playfulness appeared to 
please him, and many are the parents who at this day 
rejoice that his patriarchal hands have touched their off- 
spring.f 

* This was while he resided in Pliiladclphia. 

t Thousands of children have since borne the name, given them at baptism, of 
George Washington. In the Londonderry (Ireland) Journal, Fchnmry 30, 1783, \s 
the following item : " Whereas, on February 14, 1783, it pleased kind Providence to 
confer on Mathew Neely, of Burnally, parish of Tamlaghtsinlagan, and county of 
Londonderry, a man-child, whose appearance is promising and amiable, and hopes 
the Being who first caused him to exist will grant him grace. 

" Also, in consideration and in remembrance of the many heroic deeds done by 
that universally-renowned patriot, Genei-al Washington, the said Mathew Neely hath 
done himself the honor of calling the said man-child by the name of George Wash- 
ington Neely, he being the first child known, or so called, in this kingdom, by the 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 173 

General Washington was always a strict aii^ decorous 
observer of the sabbath. He invariably attended divine 
service once a day, when within reach of a place of wor- 
ship.* His respect for the clerg}'', as a body, was shown 
by public entertainments to them, the same as to the 
corps legislative and dijDlomatic ; and among his bosom 
friends were the present venerable bishop of Pennsylva- 
nia,-|- and the late excellent prelate and ardent friend of 
American liberty, Doctor Carroll, archbishop of Balti- 
more.J 

name of Washington, that brilliant western star." See Massachusetts Magazine, 
i., 62, January, 1789. It would be very difficult to ascertain who was the first per- 
son so named in this country. 

* Washington was a member, in full communion, of the Protestant Episcopal 
church, and was for many years before and after the Revolution, a vestryman in 
Truro parish, whose church (Pohick) built under his supervision, is yet standing. I 
have before me the original drawing of the ground-plan and elevation of that church, 
made by Washington himself. He was also a vestryman previous to the Revolution, 
in Fairfax parish, whose church, wherein he frequently worshipped, is yet standing, 
in the city of Alexandria. While president of the United States, and residing in 
New York, he attended Saint Paul's church ; in Philadelphia, Chi-ist church. He 
seldom went to the sanctuary in the afternoon, according to his own diary. 

t Right Reverend William White, D. D., the first American bishop in the Prot- 
estant Episcopal church. He was a son of a Philadelphia lawyer, and was bom iu 
that city, on the fourth of April, 1748. The preaching of Whitefield greatly deep- 
ened his habitual and religious feelings, and on graduating at the college in Phila- 
delphia, at the age of fifteen years, he commenced the study of theology. He was 
ordained a deacon in London in 1770, and before he returned, in 1772, he received 
priest's orders. He was first an assistant minister of Christ church, Philadelphia ; 
and he was a faithful pastor in that parish for sixty-four years. He was chaplain to 
the continental Congress a short time in 1777 ; and in 1787 he and Doctor Provoost, 
of New York, were consecrated bishops. He was chiefly instrumental in framing 
the constitution of the church in America, and compiled its liturgy and canons. 
Among his last official labors was the preparation of instructions for missionaries 
going to China. That was in 1835, when he was eighty-eight years of age. He 
preached his last sermon in June, 1836, and on the seventeenth of the following 
month he expired, when little more than eighty-nine years old. 

t Right Reverend John Carroll, D. D., the first bishop of the Roman Catholic 
church in the United States. He was born at Upper Marlborough, Maryland, on 
the eighth of January, 1735. At the age of thirteen years he was sent to the college of 
St. Omer, in French Flanders, where he remained until he was transferred to the Jcs- 



174 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

On Sunday no visiters were admitted to the president's 
house, save the immediate relatives of the family, with 
only one exception : Mr. Speaker Trumbull, since gover- 
nor of Connecticut, and who had been confidential secre- 
tary to the chief in the War of the Revolution, was in the 
habit of spending an hour with the president, on Sunday 
evenings.'-' Trumbull practised the lesson of punctuality, 
which he learned in the service of the olden time, with 
such accuracy, that the porter, by consulting his clock, 
could tell when to stand ready to open to the jSpea/cet^'s 
Bell, as it was called in the family, from the circumstance 
of no hand, other than the speaker's, touching the bell 
on the evenings of the sabbath. 

uits' college at Liege, six years afterward. He was ordained a Jesuit priest in 1769, 
became a teacher iu the college of Liege, and in 1773, when the Jesuits were expelled 
from France, he was obliged to abandon a professorship at Bruges, to which he had 
lately been appointed, and retire to England. He travelled much, and returned to 
his native country in 1775. He accompanied a committee of the continental Con- 
gress, on a political mission to Canada in the spring of the following year, and 
throughout the War for Independence, he was attached to the patriot cause. In 
1786 he was appointed vicar-general of the Roman Catholic church in America. 
In 1790 he was consecrated a bishop, and the following year founded the college at 
Georgetown. On the invitation of Congress, he delivered a eulogy on Washington, 
in St. Peter's church, Baltimore, on the twenty-second of February, 1800. In 1808, 
• Doctor Carroll was made ai-chbishop, with four suffragan bishops. With every addi- 
tional duty, his zeal for his Zion seemed to increase, and he labored faithfully until 
his death, which occurred at Baltimore, on the third of December, 1815, when ho 
was eighty years of age. 

* Jonathan Trumbull, son of the patriotic governor of Connecticut, of the same 
name. He was born at Lebanon, in JIarch 1740, and graduated at Harvard col- 
lege in 1759. From 1775 to the close of the campaign in 1778, he was paymaster 
to the army in the northern department. In 1780, he was appointed secretary and 
aid to General Washington, and in that situation he remained until the end of the 
•war, in the enjoyment of the perfect confidence of the commander-in-cliief. He 
was chosen a representative in the first Congress under the federal constitution, 
and in 1791 became speaker of the house of representatives. He was elevated to 
the senate in 1794, and in 1798 succeeded Oliver Wolcott as governor of his native 
state. He remained in office until his death, a period of eleven years. He died at 
Lebanon, on the seventh of August, 1809, at the age of sixty-nine years 



WASHINGTON AT JIOUNT YERNON. 175 

Tlie remarkable degree of admiration and awe that 
was felt by every one, upon the first approach to Wash- 
ington, evidences the imposing power and sublimity 
which belongs to real greatness. Even the frequenters 
of the courts of princes were sensible of this exalted feel- 
ing, when in the presence of the hero, who, formed for the 
highest destinies, bore an impress from nature, which de- 
clared him to be one among the noblest of her works * 

Those who have only seen him as the leader of nrmies 
and the chief magistrate of the republic, can have but an 
imperfect idea of him wdien merged into the retired citi- 
zen, embosomed among his family and friends, cultivating 
the social and domestic virtues, and dispensing pleasure 
and happiness to all around him. 

Persons in general have been in error, in supposing 
that there belonged to this dignified man nothing of the 
gentler sort — "no tear for pity." In the master-spirit 
in the direction of those vast events wdiich gave a new 
empire to the world, the austerity of command could 
never destroy those kindlier feelings in which he delight- 
ed to indulge himself, and to inspire them in others. 
Stern he was, to all whom he deemed wanting in those 
high moral requisites, which dignify and adorn our 
natures — stern he was, to the disturbers of the repose 
of society, the violators of those institutions wdiich pro- 
mote peace and good will among men ; but he was for- 

* It is related of the Honorable Gouverneur Morris, who was remarkable for his 
freedom of deportment toward his friends, that on one occasion he offered a wager 
that he could treat General Washington with the same familiarity as he did others. 
This challenge was accepted, and the performance tried. Mr. Morris slapped Wash- 
ington familiarly on the shoulder, and said, " How are you, this morning, general ?" 
Washington made no reply, but turned his eyes upon Mr. Morris wit!i a glance that 
fairly withered him. He afterward acknowledged, that nothing couid induce iiim to 
attempt the same thing again 



176 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

bearing toward the imperfections of human kind, where 
they arose from the passions only, and not from the de- 
pravity of the heart. 

He was reserved toward the many ; but there were a 
chosen few, who, having passed that barrier, were wooed 
by his kindly friendship to push their fortunes, till they 
finally gained footing in the citadel of his esteem. 

He was tender, compassionate, and sympathizing. We 
have seen him shed tears of parental solicitude over the 
manifold errors and follies of our unworthy youth.* Hel 
shed a tear of sorrow for his suifering country in the 
dark hour of her destiny ; and a tear of joy and gratitude i 
to heaven for her deliverance, when, in 1789, he cross- 'I 
ed the bridge of Trenton, where the hands of freemen 
" reared for him triumphal bowers," while a choir of in- 
nocents, with seraph chant, " welcomed the mighty chief 
once more," and " virgins fair, and matrons grave, strewed 
the hero's way with flowers."f 

The journey of the first president to the seat of gov- 
ernment was one continued triumph ; but nowhere was 
it of so feeling a character as at the bridge of Trenton. 
That was, indeed, a classic ground. It was there, on a 
frozen surface, that, in 1776, was achieved the glorious 
event which restored the fast-failing fortunes of liberty, 
and gave to her drooping eagles a renewed and bolder 
flight. AVhat a contrast to the chief must have been this 
spot in 1789, w^hen no longer " a mercenary foe aimed 
against him the fatal blow ;" when no more was heard 

* See the correspondence between Washington and young Custis during the col- I 
legiate days of the latter, appended to the Memoir. ' 

t A more minute account of Washington's reception at Trenton, when on his way ^ 
to New York, in the spring of 1789, to be inaugurated the first president of the i 
United States, will be found in another chapter. 



WASHINGTON AT MOUNT VERNON. 177 

the roar of combat, the shouts of the victors, the groans 
of the d3dng — but the welcome of thousands to hberty's 
great defender — the heartfelt homage of freemen to the 
deliverer of his country. The president alighted from 
his carriage, and approached the bridge uncovered. As 
he passed under the triumphal arch, a cherub, in the 
form of a young girl, perched amid the foliage that 
covered it, crowned him with laurel which will never 
fade, wdiile the sweetest minstrelsy from human lips 
filled the air, as the hero trod on his way of flowers. 
"Washington then shed tears — tears of the deepest emo- 
tion. 

The merit of these appropriate and classical decora- 
tions is due to the late Mrs. Stockton, of Princeton, a 
lady of superior literary acquirements and refined taste. 
She was familiarly called duchess, from her elegance and 
dignity of manners. She was a most ardent patriot 
during the "War of the Revolution, and, with the Stockton 
family, was marked for persecution on the ruthless inva- 
sion of the Jerseys.* This distinguished lady was the 

* Like others of the signers of the great Declaration, Mr. Stockton was marked 
for peculiar vengeance by the enemy. So suddenly did the flying Americans pass 
by Princeton, in the autumn of 1776, and so soon were the Hessian vultures and 
their British companions on the trail, that he had barely time to remove his family 
to a place of safety before his beautiful mansion was filled with rude soldiery. The 
house was pillaged ; the horses and stock were driven away ; the furniture was con- 
verted into fuel ; the choice old wines in the cellar were drunk ; the valuable library 
and all the papers of Mr. Stockton were committed to the flames, and the estate was 
laid waste. The plate had been hastily buried in the woods, in boxes. A treacher- 
ous servant revealed their place of concealment, and two of the boxes were disinter- 
red and rifled of their contents ; the other was saved. Mr. Stockton and family took 
refuge with a friend in Monmouth county. His place of concealment was discovered 
by a party of refugee loyalists, who entered the house at night, dragged him from 
' his bed, and treating him with every indignity which malice could invent, hurried him 
I to Amboy, and from thence to New York, where he was confined in the loathsome 
provost jail. There he suff'ered dreadfully; and when, through the interposition of 

12 



178 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

grandmother of Mr. Secretary Rush, who is "doubly 
blessed" in his Revolutionary ancestry ; both his flxther 
and grandfather having signed the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence — a most honored distinction, and, we believe, 
enjoyed by no other citizen of our extensive American 
empire.'^ 

Congress, he was released, his constitution was hopelessly shattered, and he did not 
live to see the independence of his country acliicved. He died at 3Iorven, his seat at 
Princeton, in February, 1781, blessed to the last with the tender and affectionate 
attentions of his Annis, whom he called " the best of women." Night and day she 
was at his bedside, and when his spirit was about to depart, she wrote, impromptu, 
several verses, of which the following is indieative of her feelings : — 

" Oh, could I take the ftite to him assigned, 
And leave the helpless family their head, 
How pleased, how peaceful to my lot resigned, 
I'd quit the nurse's station for the bed !" 

Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution. 

Mrs. EUet, in her Women of the Revolution, has given an interesting biography of 
Mrs. Annis Stockton. She relates, that when that excellent lady heard of the de- 
Btruction of the librai-y, she remarked, that "there were two books in it she wou'd 
like to have saved — the Bible and Young's Night Thoughts." Tradition says, that 
these two books were the only ones left. 

* Honorable Richard Rush, of Philadelphia. When Mr. Custis wrote, he was in 
the cabinet of President Adams, as secretary of the treasury, and in the prime of 
life, being about forty-seven years of age. He was graduated at Princeton college 
in 1797, became a lawyer, and in 1811 was appointed attorney-general of Pennsyl 
vania. He became the United States attorney-general in 1814. He was secretary 
of state under President Monroe, and then succeeded John Quincy Adams as min- 
ister at the court of St. James. There he remained over seven years, when Mr. 
Adams called him into his cabinet. During that time he negotiated some very im- 
portant treaties. At the request of President Jackson, Mr. Rush went to London, 
in 1836, to obtain Mr. Smitlison's legacy to the United States, out of the English 
court of chancery. In August, 1838, he returned with the entire sum. In 1847, 
President Polk appointed him minister to France. After his return he remained in 
private life, at his beautiful seat of Sydenham, near Philadelphia, where, on the verge 
of octogenarian honors (having been born in 1780) he died on the 1st. of August, 1859. 
In 1857, Mr. Rush prepared and published a valuable little volume, entitled, Wash- 
ington in Domestic Life, from original letters and manuscripts then in his possession. 



BATTLE OF PRINCETON AND DEATH OF MERCER. 



CHAPTER III. 

BATTLE OF PRLNCETON AND DEATH OF GENERAL MERCER. 

Errors of History — Manner op Mercee's Fall and Eeception of Death- WoirNrs — 
Taken to Clark's Hottsb, near the Battle-Field — Major Lewis sent to take Cake of 
IIiM — His accurate Knowledge of his Situation — His Explanation of his Wounds — 
His Death — His Burial-Place — Anecdote of lus Early Patriotism — Death op Cap- 
tain Leslie — Doctor Kush — The Seventeenth British Regiment — Composition of the 
American Army — The Die cast at Princeton — Washington on the Battle-Field 
there — Colonel Fitzgerald, his Aid-de-Camp. 

There has always been an erroneous impression on the 
pubHc mind, concerning the death of General Mercer, 
who fell at the battle of Princeton, January 3, 1777.* 

* The battle at Princeton occurred a few daj^s after Washington's triumph at 
Trenton, on the morning of the twenty-sixth of December, 1776, and was the close 
of a melancholy, yet brilliant chapter in the history of the old War for Independence. 
A little while before, Washington and his army had been expelled from the east side 
of the Hudson river, and for the space of three weeks were flying across New Jersey 
before a victorious pursuer, who was so close upon him at times, that each could 
hear the martial music of the other. The flight ended and repose came only when 
the Americans had crossed the Delaware, taken all the boats with them, and placed 
a broad and rapid stream filled with ice, between themselves and the foe. 

The British formed small encampments along the Jersey side of the Delaware, 
from Trenton to Burlington, and below. At Trenton were a thousand Hessian and 
some British cavalry. On Christmas night, Washington with his refreshed troops 
recrossed the Delaware, eight miles above Trenton, and early in the morning, fell 
upon and captured those hirelings, and, with his prisoners, went back to the Penn- 
sylvania shore. 

Once more Washington recrossed the Delaware, and with five thousand soldiers, 
encamped there. On the second of January Cornwallis, with veteran British troops, 
came from Princeton to attack him. There was some fighting at Trenton just at 
evening, when the British general, feeling sure that he could capture the whole 
American army in the morning, took rest for the night. The Americans were in 
great peril. They could not retreat across the river, and were too feeble to fight so 
large an army as that before thera, with any chance for success. So, at midnight, 



180 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

We offer the homage of our veneration for this martyr's 
memory, by giving to his adopted country and the world 
authentic particulars of the heroism and devotion that 
attended his fall. Our authority is derived from the late 
Major George Lewis, the nephew of the commander-in- 
chief, and captain of his Guard, and who was sent in with 
a flag to afford to the w^ounded general every possible 
comfort and assistance. 

It was immediately after the sharp conflict at the 
fence* between the advanced guard of the American 
army, led by General Mercer, and the British seven- 
teenth regiment, and the retreat of the Americans 
through the orchard near to Clark's house and barn, 
that General Mercer, while exerting himself to rally his 

the ground having frozen so as to allow them to roll away their cannon, the whole 
army decamped, by an unfrequented road, toward Princeton, leaving their camp-fires 
burning, to deceive the Britisli. In the morning Cornwallis was mortified to find 
his expected prey had escaped ; and the first intimation that he had of the direction 
in which he had fled, was the booming of cannon at Princeton, just at sunrise, which, 
though a clear morning, and in midwinter, he mistook for distant thunder. Then 
commenced the battle of Princeton between a part of Washington's army, under 
General Mercer, and some British troops that had just begun their march to 
join Cornwallis at Princeton. In that battle the Americans were victorious, and 
going into winter-quarters among the hills near Morristown immediately afterward, 
Washington, by sending out detachments and otherwise, drove the enemy out of 
New Jersey, except at Brunswick and Amboy. 

* When the British brigade, under Lieutenant-Colonel Mawhood, first discovered 
the Americans, under Mercer, near Princeton, they wheeled, and both parties rushed 
forward to cross Stony brook, then a full and frozen stream, at Worth's mills, in 
order to gain the high and advantageous ground beyond, toward Princeton. The 
British crossed first, but Mercer and his troops soon reached the house and orchards 
of William Clark, eastward of the present turnpike from Princeton to Trenton. 
Mercer there perceived the British line approaching from the opposite side of the 
height, and pushed through the orchard to a hedge-fence, from behind which his rifle- 
men discharged a deadly volley. It was quickly returned by the enemy, who in- 
stantly charged. The Americans, armed only with rifles and muskets, could not 
withstand the furious attack of the British bayonets. After tlie third fire they 
abandoned the fence and fled in srreat disorder. 



BATTLE OF PRINCETON AND DEATH 0F_ MERCER. 181 

broken troops, was brought to the ground by a blow 
from the butt of a musket. He was on foot at this 
tune — the gray horse he rode at the beginning of the 
action having been disabled by a ball in the fore-leg 
The British soldiers were not at first aware of the gen- 
eral's rank, for, the morning being very cold, he wore a 
surtout over his uniform. So soon as they discovered 
that he was a general officer, they shouted that they had 
got the rebel general, and cried, " Call for quarters you 
d — d rebel!" Mercer to the most undaunted courage 
united a quick and ardent temperament : he replied with 
indignation to his enemies, while their bayonets were at 
his bosom, that he deserved not the name of rebel ; and, 
determining: to die as he had lived, a true and honored 
soldier of liberty, lunged with his sword at the nearest 
man. They then bayoneted him, and left him for dead. 
Upon the retreat of the enemy, the wounded general 
was conveyed to Clark's house, immediately adjoining 
the field of battle.* The information that the com- 
mander-in-chief first received of the fall of his old com- 
panion in arms of the war of 1755, and beloved officer, 
was that he had expired under his numerous wounds ; 
and it was not until the American army was in fall 
march for Morristown that the chief was undeceived, and 
learned, to his great gratification, that Mercer, though 
fearfully wounded, was yet alive.f Upon the first halt 

* This was then a new house, owned by Thomas Clark, a member of the Society 
of Friends, or Quakers. It is yet [1859] standing, and in possession of a member 
of the Clark family. There General Mercer was nursed by Sarah Clark and a colored 
woman belonging to the family. The house stands on the south side of the battle- 
field, and about a mile and a quarter south of Princeton, 

T Washington wrote to the president of Congress on the fifth of January, 1777, 
from Pluckemin, New Jersey, giving an account of events in which he had been en- 
gaged since his communication from Trenton, on the first of the month, and men- 



182 RECOLLECTIONS OF AVASHINGTON. 

at Somerset courthouse, Washington des]Datched. Major 
George Lewis with a flag and a letter to Lord Corn- - 
waUis, requesting that every possible attention might be 
shown to the wounded general, and permission that 

tioned the death of General Mercer. Two days afterward he wrote : " I am happy 
to inform you, that the account of General Mercer's death, transmitted in my last, 
was premature, though it was mentioned as certain by many who saw him after he 
was wounded. By intellio;ence from Princeton yesterday evening, he was alive, and 
seemed as if he would do well. Unhappily he is a prisoner. Had it not been for 
the information of his death, I would have tried to bring him away, though I believe 
it could not have been effected." 

General Mercer died on the twelfth, at Clark's house, and was buried there, but 
two days afterward his remains were removed to Philadelphia, and interred with 
military honors, in Christ churchyard. A committee of the Congress was appointed 
to consider what honor should be paid to the memories of General Warren, killed 
on Breed's hill on the seventeenth of June, 1775, and to General Mercer. The 
committee reported on the eighth of April, recommending the erection of a monu- 
ment in Boston, with suitable inscriptions, in honor of Warren, and another at 
Fredericksburg, in Virginia, in honor of Mercer, with the following inscription : — 

' SACKED TO THE MEMOET OF 

HUGH MERCER, 

BEIGADIEE-GENERAL IN THE AEMT OF 

THE UNITED STATES. 

HE DIED ON THE 12th OF JANUAEY, 177T, OF THE 

WOUNDS HE EECEIVED ON THE 8d OF THE SAME MONTH, 

NEAE PEINCETON, IN NEW JEESET, 

BEAVELT DEFENDING THE 

LIBEETIES OF AMEEICA. 

THE CONGEESS OF THE UNITED STATES, 

IN TESTIMONY OF HIS VIETUES, AND THEIR GEATITUDE, 

HAVE CAUSED THIS MONUMENT TO BE EEECTED." 

They also resolved, that " the eldest son of General Warren, and the youngest son 
of General Mercer, be educated, from this time, at the expense of the Unite 1 States." 
Neither monument was ever erected, but the children were educated at the expense 
of the government. General Mercer's son (the late Colonel Hugh Mercer, of 
Fredericksburg, Virginia), was then about six months old, having been born in 
July, 1776. He was educated at William and Mary college, in Virginia, when Bishop 
Madison was its president. He was for many years colonel of the militia of his 
native county, and an active magistrate. For five consecutive years he was a mem- 
ber of the Virginia legislature, and for many years was president of the Branch 
Bank of Virginia, at Fredericksburg. He died at his seat, called The Sentnj-Box, 
in 1855, at the age of seventy-nine years. A portrait of this " Child of the Republic" 
may be found in Lossing's Field-Book of the Revolution. 



BATTLE OF PRINCETON AND DEATH OF MERCER. 183 

Lewis should remain with liim to minister to liis wants. 
To both requests his lordship yielded a willing assent, 
and ordered his staff-surgeon to attend upon General 
Mercer. Upon an examination of the wounds, the British 
surgeon remarked, that although they were many and 
severe, he was disposed to believe that they would not 
prove dangerous. Mercer, bred to the profession of an 
army-surgeon in Europe,'^ said to young Lewis, "Raise 
up my right arm, George, and this gentleman will there 
discover the smallest of my wounds, but which will prove 
the most fatal. Yes sir, that is a fellow that will very 
soon do my business." He languished till the twelfth, 
and expired in the arms of Lewis, admired and lamented 
by the whole army. During the period that he lay on 
the couch of suffering, he exonerated liis enemies from 
the foul accusation which they bore, not only in 1777 
but for half a century since, viz., of their having bayonet- 
ed a general officer after he had surrendered his sword, 
and become a prisoner-of-war — declaring that he only 
relinquished his sword when his arm had become power- 
less to wield it.f He paid the homage of his whole heart 

* He was a native of Scotland, and was an assistant-surgeon in the battle of Cul- 
loden, which decid'?d the fate of Charles Edward, the Young Scotch Pretender to 
the throne of England, as the lineal representative of the Stuart family, who wero 
expelled in the person of James IL, in 1688. Soon after that battle Mercer came to 
America, took up his residence at Fredericksburg, and was engaged in the practice 
of medicine and the business of an apothecary there, when the War for Independence 
broke out. He espoused the cause, left his -profession, took the command of three 
regiments of minute-men in 1775, and. in 1776, organized and drilled a large body 
of Virginia militia. Congress gave him the commission of a brigadier on the fifth 
of June, 177.5, and appointed him to the command of the flying camp of ten thou- 
sand men, authorized to be raised in the middle states. 

t "Lewis," says Mr. Custis, elsewhere, "mentioned to General Mercer the ex- 
treme indignation which prevailed in the American army, together with threats of 
vctiiliation at the inhuman treatment it was supposed the general had received from 
tl e enemy, viz., that he had been bayoneted after having surrendered and asked for 



184 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

to the person and character of the commander-m-chief, 
rejoiced with true soldierly pride in the triumphs of 
Trenton and Princeton, in both of which he had borne a 
conspicuous part, and offered up his fervent prayers for 
the final success of the cause of American Independence. 

Thus lived and died Hugh Mercer, a name that will 
for ever be associated with momentous events in the his- 
tory of the "War of the Revolution. When a grateful 
posterity shall bid the trophied memorial rise to the 
martyrs who sealed with their blood the charter of an 
empire's liberties, there will not be wanting a monument 
to him whom Washington mourned as " the worthy and 
brave General Mercer." 

General Mercer lies buried, in Philadelphia, where a 
plain slab, with the initials H. M., denotes the last earthly 
dwelling of the patriot brave, 

" Who sunk to rest, 
With his country's wishes blest."* 

quarter : when the magnanimous Mercer observed, " The tale which you have heard, 
George, is untrue. My death is owing to myself. I was on foot, endeavoring to 
rally my men, who had given way before the superior discipline of the enemy, when 
I was brought to the ground by a blow from a musket. At the same moment the 
enemy discovered my rank, exulted in their having taken the rebel general, as they 
termed me, and bid me ask for quarters. I felt that I deserved not so opprobrious 
an epithet, and determined to die, as I had lived, an honored soldier in a just and 
i-ighteous cause ; and without begging my life or making reply, I lunged with my 
sword at the nearest man. They then bayoneted and left me." 

* This was written in October, 1839. A plain marble slab was afterward placed 
at the head of his grave, with the simple inscription : " In Memory of General Ilufih 
Mercer, who fell at Princeton, Jan. 3d, I'll!." There his remains lay until 1840, 
when his countrymen, of the St. Andrew's, and the Thistle societies, removed them 
to Laurel Hill cemetery, and erected a fine white marble monument over them, near 
the chapel. The monument bears the following inscriptions, wliicli give the most 
important incidents of his public life. East side, or principal front : " Dedicated to 
the Memory of General Hugh Mercer, wlio fell for the Sacred Cause of Human 
Liberty, and American Independence, in the Battle of Princeton. He poured out 
his blood for a Generous Principle." West side: " General Mercer, a Physician 



BATTLE OF PRINCETON AND DEATH OF MERCER. 185" 

"We shall give a single anecdote of the subject of the 
foregoing memoir, to show the pure and high-souled prin- 
ciples that actuated the patriots and soldiers of the days 
of our country's trial. 

Virginia at first organized two regiments for the com- 
mon cause. When it was determined to raise a third, 
there were numerous applications for commissions ; and 
these being mostly from men of fortune and family inter- 
est, there was scarcely an application for a rank less than 
a field officer. Durino: the sittino^ of the house of bur- 
gesses upon this important motion, a plain but soldierly- 
looking individual handed up to the speaker's chair a 
scrap of paper, on which was written, " Hugh Mercer 
will serve his adopted country and the cause of liberty 
ill amj ranlt or station to which he may be appointed." 
This, from a veteran soldier, bred in European camps, 

of Fredericksburg, in Virginia, was distinguished for his skill and learning, his 
gentleness and decision, his refinement and humanity, his elevated honor, and his 
devotion to the great cause of Civil and Religious Liberty." North side: "General 
Mercer, a native of Scotland, was an assistant-surgeon in the Battle of Culloden, 
and the companion of Washington in the Indian Wars of 1755 and 1756. He re- 
ceived a Medal from the Corporation of Philadelphia, for his courage and conduct 
in the Expedition against the Indian Settlement of Kittanning." South side: " The 
St. Andrew's Society of Philadelphia offer this humble tribute to the memory of an 
illustrious Brother. When a grateful posterity shall bid the trophied memorial rise 
to the martyrs who sealed with their blood the charter of an Empire's liberties, there 
shall not be wanted a rfionument to him whom Washington mourned as the worthy 
and brave Mercer." General Mercer was about fifty-six years of age when he was 
slain. 

The funeral ceremonies on the occasion of the re-interment of the remains of Gen- 
eral Mercer, were very imposing. They took place on the twenty-ninth of Novem- 
ber, 1840. The pall was borne by Commodores Read, Biddle, and Stewart, and 
Colonel Miller. The first troop of city cavalry, wh^se predecessors took part in the 
battle in which Mercer was mortally wounded, composed the guard of honor (there 
being at that time, not a single survivor of the original corps); and William B. 
Reed, Esq., grandson of General Joseph Reed, of the Revolution, pronounced au 
eloquent oration. 



186 RECOLLECTIONS OF WA=IIL\GTON. 

the associate of Washington in the war of 1755,* and 
known to stand high in his confidence and esteem, was 
all-sufficient for a body of patriots and statesmen such as 
composed the Virginia house of burgesses in the days 
of the Revolution. The appointment of Mercer to the 
command of the third Viro;inia resriment was carried 
instanter. 

It was while the commander-in-chief reined up his 
horse, upon approaching the spot in a ploughed field 
where lay the gallant Colonel Hasletf mortally wounded^ 
that he perceived some British soldiers supporting an 
officer, and upon inquiring his name and rank, was 
answered. Captain Leslie. Doctor Benjamin Rush,J who- 
formed a part of the general's suite, earnestly asked, " A 
son of the Earl of Levin?" to which the soldiers replied 
in the affirmative. The doctor then addressed the 
general-in-chief : " I beg your excellency to permit thia 
wounded officer to be placed under my especial care, 
that I may return, in however small a degree, a part ol 

* Mcrct'i- was with Washington on the Virginia frontier in the French and Indiaa 
war. 

t Colonel Haslet was in command of Delaware troops, and had done noble ser- 
vite on Long Island and at White Plains. In the engagement, at the latter place, 
he was the first to take post on Chatterton's hill, where the principal battle was 
fought, with his own and some Maryland troops and militia, in all about sixteen 
hundred men. 

I Benjamin Rush was born near Philadelphia, on the fifth of January, 1745. He 
gi-aduated at Princeton college, in 1760, commenced the study of medicine the next 
ymr, and in 1766 went to Edinburgh, where, two years afterward, he received the 
degree of M.D. He returned to Philadelpiiia in 1769, where he commenced the 
practice of medicine, and was soon afterward elected professor of chemistry in the 
College of Pennsylvania. He was chosen a member of the continental Congress 
in 1776, and in April, 1777, he was appointed surgeon-general of the military hos- 
pitals of the middle department. From that period until his death he took an active 
part in public affairs — politics, science, and general literature. He stands in the 
highest rank of American physicians and philosophers. Doctor Rush died on the 
eighteenth of April, 1813, in tlie sixty-ninth year of his age. 



BATTLE OF rRIXJLTON AND DEATH OF MERCER. 187 

of the obligations I owe to his worthy father for the 
many kindnesses received at his hands while I was a 
student in Edinburgh." The request was immediately 
granted; but, alas! poor Leslie was soon "past all sur- 
gery." He died the same evening, after receiving every 
possible kindness and attention, and was buried the next 
day at Pluckemin with the honors of war ; his companions, 
as they lowered his remains to the soldier's last rest, 
shedding tears over the grave of a much-loved com- 
mander. 

The battle of Princeton, for the time it lasted and the 
numbers engaged, was the most fatal to our officers of 
any action during the whole of the Revolutionary war — 
the Americans losing one general, two colonels, one 
major, and three captains, killed'-^ — while the martial 
prowess of our enemy shone not with more brilliant 
lustre, in any one of their combats during their long 
career, of arms than did the courage and discipline of the 

1 17th British regiment on the third of January, 1777.f 

i Indeed, Washington himself, during the height of the 
conflict, pointed out this gallant corps to his officers, 

1 exclaimino;, " See how those noble fellows fidit ! Ah ! 

■j gentlemen, when shall we be able to keep an army long 
enough together to display a discipline equal to our 

ij enemies." J 

{'■ * These were General Mercer, Colonels Haslet and Potter, Major Morris, and 
ij Captains Sliippen, Fleming, and Neal. 

5 t This was Colonel Mawhood's regiment, and the one that drove the Americans 
I from the hedge fence, at the point of the bayonet. 

I t During the whole of the year 1776, Washington frequently pressed upon the 

II attention of Congress, the necessity for establishing a system of long enlistments in 
I'lthe army, for every day the evils of short enlistments were felt. Up to the close of 
I 1776, the chief dependence of the army was upon the militia. "Who," Washing- 

iton said in a letter to the president of Congress, toward the close of December, 



188 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The regular troops that constituted the grand army at 
the close of the campaign of '76 were the fragments ofj 
many regiments, worn down by constant and toilsom( 
marches, and suffering of every sort, in the depth oi 

" oome in, j-ou can not tell how; go, you can not tell when ; and act, you can not 
tell whore ; consume your provisions, exhaust your stores, and leave j'ou at a critical 
moment." He then urged the establishment of a standing army, sufficient for the 
exigencies of the case, and said : " In my judgment this is not a time to stand upon 
expense ; our funds are not the only ohject of consideration." He then informed 
the Congress that he had taken the responsibility of offering to regiment recruits, 
and to place them on the continental establishment as to rank and pay, and added : 
" It may be thought that I am going a good deal out of the line of my duty to adopt 
these moasures, or to advise thus freely. A character to lose, an estate to forfeit, 
the inestimable blessings of liberty at stake, and a life devoted, must be my excuse." 

The Congress had already resolved to establish a grand army of eighty-eight bat- 
talions of seven hundred and fifty men each, to be raised in the several states ; and 
their confidence in Washington was manifested by their clothing him with the abso- 
lute powers of a military dictator, for six months. And a week after the foregoing 
letter to the Congress was written, they authorized the raising of sixteen additional 
battalions, and at the same time thus defined by resolution, the extraordinary powers 
which they had given to the commander-in-chief: — 

" This Congress, having maturely considered the present crisis, and having per- 
fect reliance on the wisdom, vigor, and uprightness of General Washington, do 
hereby — 

" Resolve, That General Washington shall be, and he is hereby, vested with full, 
ample, and complete powers to raise and collect together, in the most speedy and 
effectual manner, from any or all of these United States, sixteen battalions of infan- 1 
try, in addition to those already voted by Congress ; to appoint officers for the said 
battalions of infantry ; to raise, officer, and equip three thousand light-horse, three 
regiments of artillery, and a corps of engineers, and to establish their pay; to apply 
to any of the states for such aid of the militia as he shall judge necessary; to form 
such magazines, and in such places, as he shall think proper; to displace and 
appoint all officers under the rank of brigadier-general, and to fill up all vacancies 
in every other department in the American army ; to take, wherever he may be, 
whatever he may want for the use of the army, if the inhabitants will not sell it, 
allowing a reasonable price for the same ; to arrest and confine persons who refuse 
to take the continental currency, or are otherwise disaifected to the American cause, 
and return to the states of which they are citizens their names, and the nature of 
their offences, together with the witnesses to prove them. 

" That the foregoing powers be vested in General Washington for and during the 
term of six months from the date hereof, unless sooner determined by Congress." 
Journals of Congress, December 27, 1776. 



BATTLE OF PRINCETON AND DEATH OF MERCER. 189 

winter. The fine regiment of Small wood, composed of 
the flower of the Maryland youth, and which in the June 
preceding, marched into Philadelphia eleven hundred 
strong, was, on the third of January, reduced to scarcely 
sixty men, and commanded by a captain.* In fact, the 
bulk of what was then called the grand army consisted 
of the Pennsylvania militia and volunteers — citizen-sol- 
diers who had left their comfortable homes at the call of 
their country, and were enduring the rigors of a winter 
campaign. On the morning of the battle of Princeton, 
they had been eighteen hours under arms, and harassed 
by a long night's march. Was it then to be wondered 
at that they should have given way before the veteran 
bayonets of their fresh and well-appointed foe ? 

The heroic devotion of Washino-ton was not wantino* 
in the exigencies of this memorable day. He was aware 
that his hour was come to redeem the pledge he had laid 
on the altar of his country when first he took up arms 
in her cause : to win her liberties or perish in the 
attempt. Defeat at Princeton would have amounted to 
the annihilation of America's last hope ; for, independent 
of the enemy's forces in front, Cornwallis, with the flower 
of the British army, eight thousand strong, was already 
panting close on the rear.-j* It was, indeed, the very 

* Colonel Smallwood's battalion was one of the finest in the army, in dress, 
equipment, and discipline. Their scarlet-and-buff uniforms, and well-burnished 
arms, contrasted strongly with those of the New England troops, and were "dis- 
tinguished at this time," says Graydon, " by the most fashionable-cut coat, the most 
macaroni cocked hat, and hottest blood, in the Union." In the battle on Long 
Island, at the close of the previous August, this tine corps had been dreadfully deci- 
mated. Full two hundred and fifty of them perished in the last deadly struggle 
betvie3n Stirling and Cornwallis, near the shores of Gowanus creek. 

t When Cornwallis heard the firing at Princeton, on the morning of the third of 
January, he hastened in that direction with his whole force, for he considered his 
vahuible stores at Brunswick in danger. He reached Princeton just as the Ameri- 



190 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

crisis of the struggle. In tlie hurried and imposing 
events of Uttle more than one short week, liberty endured 
her greatest agony. What, then, is due to the fame 
and memories of that sacred band who, with the master 
of liberty at their head, breasted the storm at this fear- 
ful crisis of their country's destiny ?* 

The heroism of Washington on the field of Princeton 
is matter of history. We have often enjoyed a touching 
reminiscence of that ever-memorable event from the late 
Colonel Fitzgerald, who was aid to the chief, and who 
never related the story of his general's danger and almost 
miraculous preservation, without adding to his tale the 
homasre of a tear. 

o 

The aid-de-camp had been ordered to bring up the 
troops from the rear of the column, when the band under 
General Mercer became engaged. Upon returning to 



cans had secured their victory, who, though wearied and worn with fatigue and 
want of sleep, were in pursuit of the fugitive British soldiers who had fled from 
Princeton toward Brunswick. Cornwallis pursued Washington as far as the Mill- 
stone river, when he gave up the chase. 

* "Achievements so stirring," says the eloquent Charles Botta, "gained for 
the American commander a very great reputation, and were regarded with wonder 
by all nations, as well as by the Americans. The prudence, constancy, and noble 
intrepidity of Washington, were admired and applauded by all. B}' unanimoua 
consent, he was declared to be the savior of his country; all proclaimed him equal 
to the most renowned commanders of antiquity, and especially distinguished him by the 
name of the American Fabius. His name was in the mouths of all; he was 
celebrated by the pens of the most distinguished writers. The most illustrious per- 
sonages of Europe lavished upon him their praises and their congratulations. The 
American general, therefore, wanted neither a cause full of grandeur to defend, nor 
occasion for the acquisition^ of glory, nor genius to avail himself of it, nor the renown 
due to his triumphs, nor an entire generation of men perfectly well disposed to ren- 
der him homage." 

It is said Frederick the Great of Prussia declared, that the achievements of Wash- 
ington and his little band of compatriots, between the twenty-fifth of December, 
1776, and the fourth of January, 1777, a space of ten days, were the most brilliant 
of any in the annals of military achievements. 



BATTLE OF PRIXCETOX AND DEATH OF MERCER. 191 

the spot where he had left the commander-in-chief, he 
was no longer there, and, upon looking around, the aid 
discovered him endeavoring to rally the line which had 
been thrown into disorder by a rapid on-set of the foe * 
"Washington, after several ineffectual efforts to restore 
the fortunes of the fight, is seen to rein up his horse, 
with his head to the enemy, and in that position to be- 
come immovable. It was a last appeal to his soldiers, 
and seemed to say. Will you give up your general to the 
foe ? Such an appeal was not made in vain. The dis- 
comfitted Americans rally on the instant, and form into 
line ; the enemy halt, and dress their line ; the American 
chief is between the adverse posts; as though he had 
been placed there, a target for both. The arms of both 
lines are levelled. Can escape from death be possible ? 
Fitzgerald, horror-struck at the danger of his beloved 
commander, dropped the reins upon his horse's neck, and 
drew his hat over his flxce, that he might not see him 
die. A roar of musketry succeeds, and then a shout. It 
is the shout of victory. The aid-de-camp ventures to 
raise his eyes, and 0, glorious sight! the enemy are 
broken and flying, while dimly amidst the glimpses of 
the smoke is seen the chief, " alive, unharmed, and with- 



* Mawhood and his regiment pressed forward in vigorous pursuit of the scatterea 
Americans, and it was while endeavoring to rally them that fiercer fell. The Brit- 
ish were soon checked by Washington, who was advancing over a hill at the head 
of a column of regulars and Pennsylvania militia. Perceiving at a glance the des- 
perate state of affairs, Washington ordered Captain Moulder to form his field-battery 
for immediate action, while the chief, in person, should attempt to rally the Ameri- 
cans. His stately form was seen by Mawhood, as he rode backward and forward, 
and by word and action called upon the panic-stricken troops to turn upon the foe. 
He ordered a halt, in battle line, and drew up his artillery with the intention of 
charging upon Moulder to capture his battery. This was the movement alluded to 
in the text. 



1.92 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 






out a wound," waving liis hat, and cheering his comrades 
to the pursuit. 

Colonel Fitzgerald, celebrated as one of the finest 
horsemen in the American army, now dashed his rowels 11 
in his charger's flanks, and, heedless of the dead and 
dying in his way, flew to the side of his chief, exclaim- 
ing, " Thank God ! your excellency is safe !" The , 
favorite aid, a gallant and warm-hearted son of Erin, a I 
man of thews and sinews, and " albeit unused to thef 
melting mood," now gave loose rein to his feelings, and^ 
wept like a child, for joy. 

Washington, ever calm amid scenes of the greatest 
excitement, affectionately grasped the hand of his aid 
and friend, and then ordered — " Away, my dear colonel, 
and bring up the troops — the day is our own !"* 

=* Being severely galled by the grape-shot of the Americans, and perceiving 
Hitchcock's and another continental regiment advancing from behind the republicaa 
column, Mawhood wheeled and retreated toward the high ground in the rear, leaving 
his artillery upon the field. They fled to the Trenton road in confusion, crossed 
the bridge over Stony Brook, and hastened to join Cornwallis, then on his march 
from Trenton. 



BATTLE OF GERJLINTOWN. ] ^S 



CHAPTER IV. 

BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN* 

■Washington tTNDisMATED by Defeat — Position of the British Army — Makch of the 
Americans ttpon G-ekmantown — Anecdote op Pulaski — An Intoxicated General 
Officer — Surprise of tue Enemy — Retreat into Chew's House — Attempt to Dis- 
lodge THE British — A Council of War — Intense Fog — Alarm and Panic among the 
Americans — Washington in Danger — Eesult of the Battle — General Nash Mor- 
tally Wounded — His Presence of Mind — His Death — The Undisciplined Americans 
— Congress Complimentary — How near the Americans were Victorious — Remarks 
OP the French Minister on the Battle of Geumantown — March of the Army to 
Valley Forge — Washington's Compassion. 

Undismayed by his defeat at the battle of the Brandy- 
wine, AYashington hovered on the march of his enemy ; 
not with the hope of saving Philadelphia, but with the 
determination to strike yet another blow before the con- 
clusion of the campaign of 1777. Charmed with the 
courage displayed by his undisciplined soldiers, Avhen 
opposed to a superior army of veterans, in the combat at 
i Chad's ford, the American general anxiously watched for 
j an opportunity of again measuring his sword with that 
; of his skilful and far better appointed adversary, though 
I vast were the advantages in favor of the latter.f 

1 ■ * Written, and published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty-second 
'February, 1841. 

' t The retreat of the Americans after the disastrous contests near the Brandywine 
I creek, in Chester county, Pennsylvania, on the eleventh of September, 1777, was 
|l precipitate, and at first confused. Lafayette, who had been severely wounded, has 
j'left a vivid picture of the scene. Chester road, he said, was crowded with the flying 
ijfugitives, cannon, baggage-carts, and everything else pertaining to an army, even 
l^before the combats had entirely ceased ; and the confusion of the scene was enhanced 
I by the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry in the rear. On tlie banks of a 

13 



194 KECOLLECTIONS OF WASPIINGTON. 

Sir William Howe/-' flushed with his victory over the 
American grand army, and the occupation of the then 
capital of the American Union, and presuming that his 
foe was sufficiently subdued to give him no further 
molestation for the remainder of the campaign, quartered 
a large portion of his troops in the village of German- 
town, about seven miles from the city of Philadelphia, 
while he despatched considerable detachments toward 
the positions still held by the American forces on the 
Delaware.-j" 

Washington promptly embraced the opportunity thus 
offered of striking at his powerful adversary with fair 
hopes of success. Gathering together all the troops 
within his reach, and having received some reinforce- 

stream, near Chester, twelve miles from the battlefield, the flight of the fugitives 
was checked by their own officers, and Washington coining up toward midnight, 
restored order. The next morning they continued their retreat toward Chester; 
while Howe, as usual, neglecting to follow up a capital advantage, remained two or 
three days near the scene of the conflict. 

Washington and his broken army halted at Germantown, rested there one day, 
and then recrossed the Schuylkill, to attack the advancing foe. Both parties were 
prepared for action, when a heavy rain so interferred, that it was indefinitely post- 
poned. Then commenced a series of marches and counter-marches. Sir William 
Howe endeavoring to take possession of Philadclpliia, and Washington doing all in 
his power to keep him on the lower side of the Schuylkill. Howe succeeded, and 
Washington took post within about fourteen miles of Germantown, from which point 
he advanced to the engagement delineated in the text. 

* General William Howe had been commander-in-chief of the British forces in 
America since the retirement of General Gage, in the autumn of 1775. In the sum- 
mer of 1776, a British fleet, commanded by his brother, Admiral Lord Howe, came 
upon the American coast, and at this time was co-operating with the land forces. 
After the battle on Long Island, at the close of August, 1776, in which the British 
were victorious, General Howe was knighted, and created a baronet. From that 
time he was called Sir William Howe. 

t These positions were Billingsport, Fort Mercer, at Red Bank, on the Jersey 
shore, and Fort Mifilin, upon Mud island, near the Pennsylvania shore, below 
Philadelpliia. The channel of the river was obstructed by chevaux defrise, con- 
structed by the Americans upon a plan said to have been suggested by Doctor 
Franklin. 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 195 

ments, althoiigli tliey consisted mostly of new levies, 
the American army broke up its encampment, about 
fifteen miles from Germantown, on the night of the third 
of October, and advanced upon the enemy in three 
columns, in order of battle. 

During the night march, several incidents occurred 
that mio-ht be deemed ominous of the fortunes of the 
coming day. The celebrated Count Pulaski, who was 
charged with the service of watching the enemy and 
gaining intelligence, was said to have been found asleep 
in a farm-house. But although the gallant Pole might 
have been overtaken by slumber, from the great fatigue 
growing out of the duties of the advanced guard, yet no 
soldier was more wide awake in the moment of combat 
than the intrepid and chivalric Count l^ulaski.* 

* Count Casimir Pulaski was a native of Lithuania, in Poland. He was edu- 
cated for the law, but stirring military events had their influence upon his mind, and 
he entered the army. With his father, the old Count Pulaski, lie was engaged in 
the rebellion against Stanislaus, king of Poland, in 1769. The old count was taken 
prisoner, and put to death. In 1770, the young Count Casimir was elected com- 
mander-in-chief of the insurgents, but was not able to collect a competent force to 
act efficiently, for a pestilence had swept ofT 250,000 Poles the previous year. In 
1771, himself and thirty-nine others entered Warsaw, disguised as peasants, for the 
purpose of seizing the king. The object was to place him at the head of the army, 
force him to act in that position, and call around him the Poles to beat back the 
Russian forces which Catharine had sent against them. They succeeded in taking 
him from his carriage in the streets, and carrying him out of the city ; but were 
obliged to leave him, not far from the walls, to effect their own escape. Pulaski's 
little army was soon afterward defeated, and he entered the service of the Turks, 
who were fighting the Russians. His estates were confiscated, and himself outlawed. 
He went to Paris, had an interview there with Doctor Franklin, and came to Amer- 
ica in 1777. He joined the army under Washington, and, on the fifteenth of Sep- 
tember, 1777 (four days after the battle of Brandy wine, in which he behaved gal- 
lantly.), he was appointed to the command of a troop of cavalry. His legion did 
good service at the North. Early in the spring of 1778 he was ordered to Little 
Egg Harbor, on the New Jersey coast. His force consisted of cavalry and infantry, 
with a single field-piece from Proctor's artillery. While on his way from Trenton 
to Little Egg Harbor, and when within eight miles of the coast, he was surprised by a 



196 EECOLLLCTIO^^S OF WASHK\GTON. 

The delay in the arrival of the ammunition-wo.gons was 
productive of the most serious consequences in the action 
of the succeeding day. The general officer to whom 
the blame of this delay was attached was afterward dis- 
covered in a state of intoxication, lying in the corner of 
a fence. Lieutenant Benjamin Grymes, of the Life- 
Guard,* grasping the delinquent by the collar, placed him 
on his legs, and bade him go and do his duty. This bold 
proceeding on the part of a subaltern toward a general 
officer was certainly at variance with all rules or orders 
of discipline ; but the exigency of the moment, and the 
degraded spectacle that an officer of high • rank had pre- 
sented to the eyes of the soldiery, would seem to have 
warranted a proceeding that, under different circum- 
stances, must be considered as subversive of all military 
discipline. Grymes was a bold, brave soldier, enthusi- 
astically attached to the cause of his country, and fore- 
most among the asserters of her liberties. The general 
officer of whom we have spoken was brought to a court- 
martial and cashiered.f 

]iarty of British, and a large portion of the infantry were bayoneted. Julien, a deserter 
from his corps, had given information of his position ; the surprise was complete. 
His loss was forty men, among them Lieutenant-Colonel Baron de Botzen. Pulaski 
was ordered to the South in February, 1779, and was in active service under Lin- 
coln iintil the siege of Savannah, in October of that year, where he was mortally 
wounded. His banner, made of crimson silk, and beautifully embroidered by the 
Moravian sisters of Bethlehem, was preserved, and carried to Baltimore. He was 
taken to the United States brig Wasp, where he died. He was buried under a largo 
tree on St. Helen's island, about fifty miles from Savannah, by his first lieutenant 
and personal friend, Charles Litomiski. Funeral honors were paid to his memory 
at Charleston ; and, on the 29th of November, Congress voted the erection of a mon- 
ument to his memory. Like other monuments ordered by the continental Con- 
press, the stone for Pulaski's is yet in the quarry. The citizens of Savannah have 
reared a fine marble obelisk, upon a granite base, in commemoration of the services 
of General Greene and Count Pulaski. 

* A notice of Washington's Life-Guard is given in another chapter. 

t The officer here alluded to, was General Adam Stephen of the Virginia line, 



BATTLE OF GERM.OT0WN. 197 

The surprise was complete. Between daybreak and 
sunrise the British pickets were forced, and the light- 
infantr}^, routed in their camp, fled in confusion, leaving 
their camp standing* So complete was the surprise, 

and a companion-in-arms of Washington, during the French and Indian war., He 
was a captain in the Ohio expedition in 1754, conducted by Colonel Washington. 
Afterward raised to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, he was intrusted with the com- 
mand of Fort Cumberland. He was left in the command of the Virginia forces 
while Washington went to Boston, on an official errand to Governor Shirley, in 
1755, and was afterward despatched to South Carolina, to ojjpose the Creek Indians. 
On his return, he was placed at the head of troops for the defence of the Virginia 
frontier, and was commissioned a brigadier. Congress appointed him a major- 
general, early in 1777, and he behaved well in the battle of Brandywine. Yielding 
to a bad habit, he fell into disgrace at Germantown. His troops, it can scarcely be 
said, were in the action at all. He was accused of " unofficer-like-conduct " during 
the action and the retreat, was found guilty of being intoxicated, and was dismissed 
from the army, much to the chagrin of many of the officers, for he was a pleasant, 
companionable man. On the third of December, 1777, the Marquis de Lafayette was 
appointed to the command of General Stephen's division. This was the first time 
that tlie marquis had been honored with a leadership appropriate to his rank since 
he joined the army. 

* Washington arranged the following order of march against the enemy at Ger- 
mantown : — 

" The divisions of Sullivan and Wayne, flanked by Conway's brigade, were to 
enter the town by way of Chestnut hill ; while General Armstrong, with the Penn- 
sylvania militia, should fall down the Manatawny road by Vandeering's mill, and 
get upon the enemy's lefc and rear. The divisions of Green and Stephen, flanked 
by M'Dougall's brigade, were to enter by taking a cnrcuit by way of the Lime-Kiln 
road, at the market-house, and attack their right wing; and the militia of Maryland 
and Jersey, under Generals Smallvvood and Forman, were to march by the old York 
road, and fall upon the rear of their right. Lord Stirling, with Nash's and Max- 
well's brigade was to form a corps de reserve." — Washington's letter to the president 
of' Congress, 5th October, 1777. 

To understand this march, it is necessary to define the location of the four several 
roads mentioned. The Skippack or main road over Chestnut hill and Mount Airy, 
passed through the village and on to Philadelphia, forming the principal street of 
Germantown. The Manatawny or Ridge road, parallel with this, was nearer the 
Schuylkill, and entered the main road below the village. Eastward of the village 
was the Lime-Kiln road, which entered at the market-place, and still farther east- 
ward, was the old York road, which fell into the main road, some distance below 
the village. The main British army lay encamped across the lower part of the 
village. The right, commanded by General Grant, lay eastward of the village— 



198 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

that the officer's watches were found hangmg up in their 
marquees, together with their portmanteaus and trunks 
of clothes, the latter affording a most seasonable booty 
to the American soldiery. Many of the tents and mar- 
quees were burnt, owing to a want of vehicles to 
cany them away. Although completely routed in the 
onset, the British light-infantry rallied under their offi- 
cers, and annoyed their enemy from every house, enclo- 
sure, or other defensible position that offisred in the line 
of their retreat ; thus showing the mighty power of dis- 
cipline over broken troops, and its invaluable influences 
amid the greatest emergencies of war. 

Six companies of the fortieth regiment, under their 
lieutenant-colonel,-|- being hard pressed by the advancing 
columns of the Americans, threw themselves into Chew's 
house, a strongly-constructed stone building, and barri- 
cading the lower windows, opened a destructive fire from 
the cellars and upper windows. The Americans, finding 
their musketry made no impression, were in the act of 
dragging up their cannon to batter the walls, when a 
ruse de guerre was attempted, which, however, failed of 
success. An officer galloped up from the house, and 
cried out, " What are you about ; you will fire upon your 

each winr; covered by strong detachments, and guarded by cavalry. Howe's head- 
quarters was in the rear of the centre. About two miles in advance was a battalion 
of British infantry, Avith a train of artillery ; and an out-lying picket with two six- 
])Oundcrs, wms at Mount Airy. It was this picket and light-infantry which are 
referred to in tlie text. The attack was led by General Wayne, whose men remem- 
bered the massacre of their companions-in-arms at Paoli, on the night of the twen 
tieth of September. " They pushed in with the bayonet," says Wayne, "and took 
ample vengeance for that night's work." 

* Lieutenant-Colonel Musgrave. He lay encamped in a field west of the main 
road, ojjposite the heavy stone-house of Chief- Justice Chew, which is yet standing 
at Germantown. 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 199 

own people." The artillery opened, but, after fifteen or 
twenty rounds, the pieces were found to be of too small 
caliber to make a serious impression, and were with- 
drawn. 

A most daring and chivalric attempt was now made to 
fire the building. Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens, aid-de- 
camp to the commander-in-chief, with a few volunteers, 
rushed up to the house under cover of the smoke, and 
applied a burning brand to the principal door, at the 
same time exchanging passes with his sword with the 
enemy on the inside. By almost a miracle, this gallant 
and accomplished officer escaped unharmed, although his 
clothes were repeatedly torn by the enemy's shot. An- 
other and equally daring attempt was made by Major 
White, aid-de-camp to General Sullivan, but without as 
fortunate a result. The major, while in the act of firing 
one of the cellar windows, was mortally wounded, and 
died soon afterward.* 

Washington accompanied the leading division under 
Major-General Sullivan, and cheered his soldiers in their 
brilliant onset, as they drove the enemy from point to 

* I visited " Chew's house" in the autumn of 1848, when the venerable daughter- 
in-law of Judge Chew was yet living tliere. She informed me that, several j'ears 
after the war, and soon after her marriage, while a young man named White was 
visiting her father-in-law, the old gentleman, in relating incidents of the battle in 
Germantown, mentioned the circumstance that a Major White, an aid of General 
Sullivan, and one of the handsomest men in the continental army, attempted to fire 
the house for the purpose of driving out the British. He ran under a window with 
a fire-brand, where shots from the building could not touch him. He was discovered, 
and a British soldier, running into the cellar, shot him dead from a basement window. 
The young man was much affected by the recital, and said to Judge Chew, " That 
Major White, sir, was my father." Mrs. Chew pointed out to me the window, 
near the northwest corner of the house, from which the shot was fired. The Marquis 
de Chastellux, in his Journal (i. 212) says, that M. Manduit, a meritorious officer in 
the continental service, tried to fire the house with burning straw. 



200 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASIIIXGTON. 

point. Arrived in the vicinity of Chew's house, the 
commander-in-chief halted to consult his officers as to the 
best course to be pursued toward this fortress that had 
so suddenly and unexpectedly sprung up in their way. 
The younger officers who were immediately attached to 
the person of the chief, and among the choicest spirits of 
the Revolution, including the high and honored names of 
Plamilton, of Reed, of Pinckney, of Laurens, and of Lee, 
Tvere for leaving Chew's house to itself, or of turning 
the siege into a blockade, by stationing in its vicinity a i 
body of troops to watch the movements of the gar- 
rison, and pressing on with the column in pursuit of 1 1 
the flying enemy. But the sages of the army, at the ' 
head of whom was Major-General Knox, repulsed at once 
the idea of leaving a fortified enemy in the rear, as con- 
trary to the usages of war, and the most approved mili- 
tary authorities.* 

At this period of the action the fog had become so 
dense that objects could scarcely be distinguished at a 
few yards distance. The Americans had penetrated the 
enemy's camp even to their second line, which was | 
drawn up to receive them about the centre of German- 
town. The ammimition of the right wing, including the 

* " What !" exclaimed Eeed, when Knox spoke of Chew's house as a fort, " call 
this a fort, and lose the happy moment !" They then sought Conway to decide the 
point, but he was not to be found. The author is evidently in error, in supposin<j 
Washington to have been engaged in this consultation. He had not yet arrived to 
that point of the conflict. Knox's opinion prevailed, and pursuit was abandoned. 
Wayne heartily condemned the attack upon Chew's house, and attributed the loss 
of the day chiefly to the delay and confusion which it caused. " A windmill attack," 
he said, " was made upon a house into which six light companies had thrown them- 
selves to avoid our bayonets. Our troops were deceived by this attack, thinking it 
something formidable. They fell back to assist — the enemy believing it to be a re- 
treat, followed — confusion ensued, and we ran away from the arras of victory opeu 
to receive us." 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 201 

Maiylancl brigades, became exhausted, the soldiers hold- 
ing up their empty cartridge-boxes, when their officers 
called on them to rally and face the enemy. The ex- 
tended line of operations, which embraced nearly two 
miles ; the unfavorable nature of the ground in the en- 
virons of German town for the operation of troops (a 
large portion of whom were undisciplined), the ground 
being much cut up, and intersected by stone-fences and 
enclosures of various sorts ; the delay of the left wing 
under Greene in getting into action^= — all these causes, 
combined with an atmosphere so dense from foo- and 
smoke as to make it impossible to distinguish friend from 
foe, produced a retreat in the American army at the 
moment when victory seemed to be within its grasp. 

Washington was among the foremost in his endeavors 
to restore the fortunes of the day, and while exerting 
himself to rally his broken columns, the exposure of his 
person became so imminent, that his officers, after affec- 
tionately remonstrating with him in vain, seized the 
bridle of his horse.f 

* The divisions of Greene and Stephen having to make a circuit, were quite late 
in coming into action. They became separated, part of Stephen's division having 
been arrested by the fire from Chew's house ; and the fog prevented a knowledge of 
their relative position. Greene had attacked and routed a battalioii of light-infantry 
and the Queen's rangers, under Lieutenant-Colonel Simcoe ; and believing that the 
Pennsylvania militia on the right, under General Armstrong, and those of Maryland 
and New Jersey on the left, under Sinallwood, would carry out the order of the 
commander-in-chief, by attacking and turning the first left and second riglit flank of 
the enemy, he pressed forward with the brigades of Muhlenburg and Scott, drove 
an advanced regiment of liglit-infantry before him, took a number of prisoners, and 
made his way to the market-house, near the centre of the town, where he came full 
upon the British right wing, drawn up in battle order. The British were amazed at 
the vigor of the republicans, and, as was afterward ascertained, were on the point of 
retreating, when a panic, caused by a fiilse alarm, and the total ignorance of each 
corps, of the position of the other, on account of the fog, put everything into con 
fusion, and a retreat ensued. 

t " I saw our brave commander-in-chief," wrote General Sullivan, " exposing bim 



202 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The retreat, under all circumstances, was quite as 
favorable as could be expected. The whole of the artil- 
lery was saved, and as many of the wounded as could be 
removed. The ninth Virginia regiment, under Colonel 
Matthews, having penetrated so far as to be without sup- 
port, after a desperate resistance, surrendered its remnant 
of a hundred men, including its gallant colonel, who had 
received several bayonet wounds. The British pursued 
but two or three miles, making prisoners of the worn-out 
soldiers, who, after a night-march of fifteen miles, and an 
action of three hours, were found exhausted and asleep 
in the fields and along the roads. > 

While gallantly leading the North Carolina brigade,^' 
that formed part of the reserve, into action. General Nash 
was mortally wounded. A round-shot from the British 
artillery striking a sign-post in Germantown, glanced 
therefrom, and, passing through his horse, shattered the 
general's thigh on the opposite side. The fall of the 
animal hurled its unfortunate rider with considerable 
force to the ground. With surpassing courage and pres 
ence of mind, General Nash, covering his wound with 
both of his hands, gayly called to his men, " Never mind 
me, I have had a devil of a tumble ; rush on, my boys, 
rush on the enemy, I'll be after you presently." Human 
nature could do no more. Faint from loss of blood, and 
the intense agony of his wound, the sufferer was borne 
to a house hard by, and attended by Doctor Craik, by 
special order of the commander-in-chief The doctor 
gave his patient but feeble hopes of recovery, even with 

self to the hottest fire of the enemy in such a manner, that regard for my country 
obliged me to ride to him and beg him to retire. He, to gratify me and some otliers, 
withdrew to a small distance, but his anxiety for the fate of the day soon brought 
hiiu up again, where he remained till our troops had retreated." 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 203 

tlie chances of amputation, when Nash observed, " It may 
be considered unmanl}^ to complain, but my agony is too 
great for human nature to bear. I am aware that my 
days, perhaps hours, are numbered, but I do not repine 
at my fate. I have fallen on the field of honor while 
leading my brave Carolinians to the assault of the enemy. 
I have a last request to make of his excellency the 
commander-in-chief, that he wdll permit you, my dear 
doctor, to remain with me, to protect me while I live, 
and my remains from insult." 

( Dr. Craik assured the general that he had nothing to 

fear from the enemy ; it was impossible that they would 

. harm him while living, or offer an insult to his remains ; 

L that Lord Cornwallis was by this time in the field,''^ and 

J that, under his auspices, a wounded of&cer would be 

;i treated with humanity and respect. The dying patriot 

^ and hero then uttered these memorable words : " I have 

I no favors to expect from the enemy. I have been con- 

:i sistent in my principles and conduct since the commence- 

\{ ment of the troubles. From the very first dawn of the 

Eevolution I have ever been on the side of liberty and 

my country." 

He lingered in extreme torture between two and three 
days, and died, admired by his enemies — admired and 
j lamented by his companions-in-arms. On Thursday, the 

I * General Gray, with the British left wintj, was just pressing hard upon the 
Americans in their fliglit, when Cornwallis arrived from Philadelphia, M'ith a 
\ squadron of light-horse, and joined in the pursuit. Through the skilful manage- 
.1 ment of Greene, the retreat was M'ell conducted, after the first paroxysm of the panic 
I had subsided ; and Wayne, on gaining an eminence near White Marsh, turned 
his cannon upon the pursuers, and eifectually checked them. There were about one 
I thousand Americans lost in that battle, killed, wounded, and missing. According to 
(Howe's official account, the British loss from the same cause, was five hundred ana 
(thirty-five. 



204 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

» 

ninth of October, the whole American army was paraded 
by order of the commander-in-chief, to perform the funeral 
obsequies of General Nash, and never did the warrior's 
last tribute peal the requiem of a braver soldier or noblei! 
patriot than that of the illustrious son of. North Carolina^ 
Taking rank with the chiefs who had fallen in the 
high and holy cause of a Nation's Independence, the 
name of Nash will be associated with the martyr names 
of Warren, Montgomery, Wooster, and Mercer, while th^ | 
epitaph to be graven on his monumental marble should 
be the memorable words of the patriot and hero on the 
field of his fame : From the very first dmvn of the Revolution, 
I have ever lecn on the side of liberty and my country,^ 

* Francis Nash was a captain in North Carolina, in 1771, and was distinguished 
in the movements in the western parts of this province, known as the Regulator War. 
He was commissioned a colonel by the convention of North Carolina, at the com- 
mencement of the war, and in February, 1777, the continental Congress commission- 
ed him a brigadier in the grand army. The ball that wounded him at Germantown, 
killed his aid. Major Witherspoon, son of Doctor Witherspoon, president of Prince- 
ton college. Nash's remains were conveyed to Kulpsville, and buried in the Men- 
nonist burrying-ground there, about twenty-six miles from Philadelphia. On re- 
ceiving intelligence of his death, the Congress resolved to request Governor Caswell, 
of North Carolina, " to erect a monument of the value of five hundred dollars, at 
the expense of the United States," in honor of his memory. 

That proposed monument has not been erected. Private patriotism has been more 

faithful. Through the efforts of John F. Watson, Esq., the annalist of Philadelphia 

and New York, the citizens of Germantown and Norristown have erected a neat 

marble monument to the memory of the gallant Nash, upon which is the following 

inscription : — 

VOTA VIA MEA JUS PATKI^, 

IN MEMOKY OF _, > 

GENERAL NASH, OF NORTH CAROLINA, f^" 

MORTALLY WOUNDED AT THE BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN, '^'' 

HERE INTERRED, OCTOBER ITtii, 17TT, 
IN PRESENCE OF THE ARMY HERE ENCAMPED.— J. F. W. 

Among the British officers killed on that occasion, were Brigadier-General James 
Agnew, and Lieutenant Bird. These were inhumed in the South burying-ground 
at Germantown, and over their graves also Mr. Watson has erected a neat marble 
slab. In the North burying-ground, the same patriotic gentleman has set up com- 



BATTLE 0? GERMANTOWN. 205 

It was not the halt at Chew's house, it was not the 
denseness of the fog, that produced the unfortunate ter- 

memorative slabs at the head of the graves of Captain Turner, of North Carolina, 
Major Irvine, and six private soldiers of the American army, who were killed in the 
battle, and there buried together. 

We insert the following letter to the author of the Recollections, from a gentleman 
of Washington city, because it is a tribute to a brave oflScer, whose merits have not 
been recorded in history : — 

"Washington, February 2Uh, 1841. 

"Dear Sir : I was much gratified at the publication in the Intelligencer, on the 
22d instant, of your reminiscences of the battle of Germamown, but regret that your 
information was not sufficient to embrace Colonel John H. Stone, of the Maryland 
brigade. This patriotic and gallant soldier was conspicuous in the battles of Long 
Island, White Plains, Trenton, Princeton, and Brandywine, in all of which his con- 
duct commanded the high admiration and warm approbation of his commander-in- 
chief. General Washington. In the latter battle the duty assigned him was, with his 
men, to cover and protect the American artillery, which he did — the corps, however, 
under his command suffering immensely, as was expected. When the order for re- 
treat was given, in wheeling, his horse was killed and he slightly wounded, but in 
the confusion, dropped behind a bush exhausted with fatigue ; he was discovered by 
one of his men, whom he begged to pass on and make his escape, as he (Stone) was 
exhausted, wounded, and must inevitably be taken prisoner; he was prepared to 
meet his fate, wliatever it might be ; the soldier, however, could not be persuaded 
to leave him ; he raised him from the ground, took off his boots, threw out the 
sand and pebbles, and finally they succeeded in making their escape under cover of 
the wood. 

" At the battle of Germantown he was again found at the head of his men, and in 
the midst of that disastrous action had his leg shattered by a musket-ball, when his 
brother-officers implored him to allow himself to be taken from the field ,• his reply 
was, ' No, never while I can wield a sword, will I desert my coq)s and colors in the 
face of an enemy.' He soon, however, became ftaint from the loss of blood and 
anguish of the wound (the bone being shattered in a thousand pieces), when, to all 
! appearance in a dying state, three of his faithful soldiers bore him off the field. He 
'was taken five or six miles on a litter and placed in a farm-house. When General 
Washington heard of it, he despatched Doctor Craik, his family surgeon, and Doctor 
jRush, the physician-general to the army, bidding them be kind and attentive, and 
|leave nothing undone which was in the power of man, or skill of physicans, to save 
Ihis life. They immediately advised amputation, but he refused, and was on the next 
jday returned as mortally wounded. After lingering some time in great torture, and 
suffering from a severe attack of tetanus, he recovered so far as to be able to be 
(taken on a litter to Annapolis, where he lingered out some fifteen or twenty years a 
JRuffering cripple, and at length fell a victim to the irritation of his wounded condition. 
[After death several buckshot were taken from his groin." 



206 RECOLLECTIONS OF AVASHINGTON. 

mination of the battle of the fourth of October. Time 
that sheds the sober and enduring colors of truth over 
the events of ttie world, has determined that the mis- 
fortunes of the battle of Germanto^vn are rather to be 
ascribed to the undisciplined character of a large propor- 
tion of the American troops, than to all other causes 
combined. Washington's oldest continental regiments 
were of but little more than a year's standing, while 
many of his troops had seen but a fcAv months' and some 
but a few weeks' service. With all these disadvantages, 
the plan of the surprise of Germantown was ably con- 
ceived and gallantly executed in the outset, and failed^ 
of complete success only from circumstances beyond a^ 
human control. 

Congress passed a unanimous resolution, conciliatory 
to the feelings of the commander-in-chief, his officers 
and soldiers, under their disappointment, intimating 
"that it was not in nature to command success," but 
their brave army " had done more ; it had deserved it."* 

The effects resulting; from the battle of Germantown 
were most happy both at home and abroad. The enemy 
were taught to respect American troops which they had 
affected to despise; and Sir William Howe deemed it 
prudent to draw in all his outposts, and shelter himself 
in Philadelphia, which proved a great relief to a large 
and valuable portion of the adjacent country. Indeed, it 
becomes the duty of the historian to declare that matters 
miffht have been much worse on the fourth of October. 

o 

When the Americans retreated, the second line of the 
enemy was in great force, having been but little impaired 

* See Journals of Congress, October 8, 1777. A medal was also ordered to bo 
struck ill commemoration of that event, and presented to Washington. 



BATTLE OF GERMANTOWN. 207 

ill the action, while the reserve, consisting of the grena- 
diers, were close at hand to sustain their comrades, those 
chosen fellows having, at the first alarm, seized their 
arms, and ran, without halting, from the commons of 
Philadelphia to GermantoAvn. Howe's army in 1777, 
without disparagement of the British service before or 
since that time, may be considered as the finest body of 
troops that ever embarked from the British dominions ; 
yet such Avas the alarm and confusion into AA^hich these 
veterans Avere throAvn by the masterly surprise at Ger- 
mantown, and such the courage and vigor displayed by 
the Americans in their attacks in the earl}^ part of the 
day, that a rendezvous at Chester became a measure of 
serious contemplation among the commanders of the 
British army * 

But the most happy and imposing influences upon 

* In a letter to the president of Congress, written three days after the battle, 
Washington says : — 

"It is with much chagrin and mortification I add, that every account confirms 
the opinion I at first entertained, that our troops retreated at the instant when vic- 
tory was declaring herself in our favor. Tlie tumult, disorder, and even despair, 
which, it seems, had taken place in the British army, were scarcely to be paralleled ; 
and, it is said, so strongly did the idea of a retreat prevail, that Chester was fixed 
on as a place of rendezvous. I can discover no other cause for not improving this 
happy opportunity than the extreme haziness of the weather." AVriting, at the same 
time, to Governor Trumbull, of Connecticut, Wasliington said: "But the morning 
was so excessively foggy, that we could not see the confusion the enemy were in, 
and the advantage we had gained ; and fearing to push too far through a strong vil- 
lage, we retired, after an engagement of two hours, bringing off all our artillery with 
us. We did not know until after the affair was over how near we were to gaining a 
complete victory." Captain William Heth, a Virginia officer, in a letter to Colonel 
John Lamb, of the artillery, asserted, that Chester had been fixed upon as a place 
of rendezvous, and that " upwards of two thousand Hessians had actually crossed the 
Schuylkill for that purpose." He also stated, that the tories in Philadelphia were 
in great distress, and commenced moving out of the city ; anl that in the pursuit, 
the republicans passed " upward of twenty pieces of cannon, and their tents standing, 



208 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

America and her cause, resulting from tlie battle of Ger- 
mantown, were experienced abroad. "Eh, mon Dieu," 
exclaimed the Count de Vergennes, the French minister 
of foreign affairs, to the American commissioners in Paris, 
"what is this you tell me, Messieurs; another battle, 
and the British grand army surprised in its camp at 
Germantown, Sir William and his veterans routed and 
flying for two hours, and a great victory only denied to 
Washington by a tissue of accidents beyond all human 
control. Ah, ah, these Americans are an elastic people. ' 
Press them down to-day, they rise to-morrow. And then, 
my dear sirs, these military wonders to be achieved by 
an army raised within a single year, opposed to the skill, 
discipline, and experience of European troops command- 
ed by generals grown gray in war. The brave Americans, 
they are worthy of the aid of France. They Avill succeed 
at last."* 

The winter of 1 7 7 7 set in early, and with unusual severity. 
The military operations of both armies had ceased, when 
a detachment of the southern troops were seen plodding 
their weary way to winter quarters at the Valley Forge.'j* 

* When intelligence of these bold and vigorous movements, and the victory of the 
republicans at Saratoga, reached Europe, the most timid friend of the Ameri- 
cans took courage. At the French court the most active sympathy for them 
was professed. " Surely such a people possess the elements of success, and will 
achieve it. We may now safely strike England a severe blow, by acknowledging; 
the independence, and forming an alliance with her revolted colonies," argued tho 
French government; and so, with more of a desire to injure the old enemy of Franco 
than to help a people -struggling for freedom, the French court speedily acknowl- 
edged the independence of the United States, and formed a treaty of friendship and 
alliance with them. 

t On the west side of the Schuylkill, in Montgomery county, Pennsylvania, about 
twenty miles from Philadelphia, is a deep rugged gorge, scooped from a slope 
stretching from high land down to the river, and through which runs a considerable 
stream.. Tiiere, Isaac Potts, in whose house Washington kept his headquarters in 
the winter of 1777, '78, erected iron-works and a forge, and the place became know. 



BATTLE OF GERMA^'TOWN. 2C1) 

The apj)earance of the horse-guard announced the ap- 
proach of the commander-in-chief The officer command- 
ing the detachment, choosing the most favorable ground, 
paraded his men to pay their general the honors of the 
passing salute. As Washington rode slowly up, he was 
observed to be eying very earnestly something that at- 
tracted his attention on the frozen surface of the road. 
Having returned the salute with that native grace, that 
dignified air and manner, that won the admiration of the 
soldiery of the old Revolutionary day, the chief reined 
up his charger, and, ordering the commanding officer of 
the detachment to his side, addressed him as follows : 
" How comes it, sir, that I have tracked the march of 
your troops by the blood-stains of their feet upon the 
frozen ground? Were there no shoes in the commis 
sary's stores, that this sad spectacle is to be seen along 
the public highways?" The officer replied: "Your ex- 
cellency may rest assured that this sight is as painful to 
my feelings as it can be to yours ; but there is no remedy 
within our reach. When the shoes were issued, the dif- 
ferent regiments were served in turn ; it was our misfor- 
tune to be among the last to be served, and the stores 
became exhausted before we could obtain even the 
smallest supj)ly." 

The general was observed to be deeply affected by his 
officer's description of the soldiers' privations and suffer- 
ings. His compressed lips, the heaving of his manly 
p chest, betokened the powerful emotions that were strug- 
gUng in his bosom, when, turning toward the troops wdth 

las Valley Forge. After the retreat from Germantown the Americans encamped 
jlat White Marsh, but the weather becoming too severe for them to remain in tents, 
IWashington broke up his camp and moved his troops to Valley Forge, where they 
jconstructcd huts and remained during the severe winter that ensued. 

14 



210 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

a voice tremulous yet kindly, Washington exclaimed, 
" Poorfelloivs ;" then giving rein to his charger, rode away. 

During this touching interview, Q\QYy eye was bent 
upon the chief, every, ear was attentive to catch his 
words ; and when those words reached the soldiers, warm 
from the heart of their beloved commander, and in tones 
of sorrow and commiseration for their sufferings, a grate- 
ftd but subdued expression burst from every lip, of " God 
bless your excellency, your poor soldiers' friend." 

In this interesting event in the life and actions of 
"Washington, he appears in a new light. He is no longer 
the grave, the dignified, the awe-inspiring and unap- 
proachable general-in-chief of the armies of his country. 
All these characteristics have vanished, and the Pater 
Patriae appears amid his companions in arms, in all his 
moral grandeur, giving vent to his native goodness of 
heart.* 

* Doctor Gordon, the earliest historian of the war, says, that " while at Washing- 
ton's table, in 1784, the chief informed him that bloody foot-prints were everywhere 
visible in the course of their march of nineteen miles from Whitemarsh to Valley 
Forge." The commissary and quartermaster's department had been so much de- 
ranged by the interference of Congress and the neglect of oflBcers, that while there 
was an ample supply of shoes, which had been provided for the army, they were not 
where they should have been when wanted. Gordon asserts, on good authority, 
that at that very time, " hogsheads of shoes, stockings, and clothing, were lying at 
different places on the roads, and in the woods, perishing for want of teams, or of 
money to pay the teamsters." 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 211 



CHAPTER y. 

THE BATTLE OF MONMOUTH.'^ 

Approach of the Americans toward Monmouth Courthouse — Decision of a Councit, 
OF War — "Washington assumes Great Responsibility — He Determines to Fight the 
Enemy — Notice of Jefferson's Opinion of Washington — Washington meets the 
Flying American Army — Anecdote of Colonel Hamilton — Washington restores 
the Fortunes of the Day — His Horses — Lafayette's Account of Washington's Ap- 
pearance — Death of Colonel Monckton — Captain Fauntleroy — Proposed Memo- 
rial to Washington concerning Exposure of Himself in Battle — Remarks of Doc- 
tor Craik — The Indian Prophecy — Baron Steuben — The Valets Cannonaded — 
Captain Molly — Washington on the Night of the Battle — Retreat of tub British 
— Vote of Thanks by the Congress. 

The commander-in-chief having completed his arrange- 
ments for bringing the enemy to a general action, pro- 
ceeded slowly toward Monmouth courthouse, early on 
the morning of the twenty-eighth of June, 1778.-|- 

* Published in the National Intelligencer, February 22, 1840. 

t Toward the close of May, 1778, General Sir Henry Clinton succeeded General 
Sir William Howe in the command of the British forces in America. Perceiving 
the dangers to be apprehended from the co-operation of a French fleet under Count 
D'Estaing, with the republican armies, Sir Heni-y determined to concentrate his 
forces at New York, the most eligible point for acting efficiently against the " rebels." 
Accordingly, on the eighteenth of June, he evacuated Philadelphia, pursuant to an 
order of the British ministry. His whole army crossed the Delaware, into New 
Jersey, eleven thousand strong, with an immense baggage and provision train, and 
marched for New York by way of New Brunswick and Amboy. 

Washington, meanwhile, had been led to suspect some movement of this kind, 
and was on the alert. He broke up his encampment at Valley Forge, and moved 
toward the Delaware, and when he ascertained that Clinton had passed over into 
New Jersey, he crossed also, at a point some distance above Philadelphia, and com- 
menced a series of manoeuvres to compel Clinton to change his course in the direc- 
tion of Sandy Hook. This he effected, having with him a force equal to the enemy, 
and Sir Henry marched toward Monmouth courthouse, 



212 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASfflNGTON. 

In the council of war there were but two voices for 
risking a general engagement, Cadwalacler,* a gallant 
fellow, and devoted in his attachment to the chief^ and 
Anthony Wajaie, who , always said aye when fighting 
was to be had on any terms.-|* 

Washington certainly assumed a great responsibility 
in risking an engagement, contrary to the opinions of a 
large majority of his generals, and notwithstanding the 
vast disparity of his forces when compared with those of 
his adversary — the disparity consisting more in the ma- 
teriel of which the respective armies was composed than 
in their numerical estimates. But it ig to be remembered 

* General John Cadwalader. He was a native of Philadelphia, and in 1775, was 
a member of the Pennsylvania convention. He entered the army, and was appointed 
brigadier by Congress in February, 1777, and also in 1778, as commander of cavalry, 
but declined the appointment on both occasions. He participated in the battles of 
Princeton, Brandywine, Germantown, and Monmouth. On the fourth of July, 
1778, he fought a duel with General Conway, the quarrel which led to it growing 
out of the intrigue of that officer with Gates and others against Washington. Con- 
way was badly, but not mortally, wounded. Cad\v^lader removed to Maiyland 
after the war, and became a member of its state legislature. He died on the tenth 
of February, 1786, aged forty-three years. He was a gentleman of large fortune, 
and dispensed its blessings with a liberal hand. Many of his descendants yet reside 
in Philadelphia and vicinity. 

t Washington held a council of war at Valley Forge, on the seventeenth of June, 
when a proposition was submitted, whether it would be advisable, in case an oppor- 
tunity offered, to hazard a general engagement with the enemy, in New Jersey 
The decision was a negative ; but it was recommended to send out detachments to 
harass the enemy. Of the nine general officers in that council, only four ("not two 
onh", as asserted by the author of the Recollections) were in favor of a general 
engagement. These were the chief's four best officers — Greene, Lafayette, Wayne, 
and Cadwalader. At Hopewell, in New Jersey, he called another council, sub- 
mitted a similar question, and obtained the same result. Cadwalader was not present; 
Greene, Lafayette, and Wayne, adiiered to their former opinion. General Lee, who had 
lately been exchanged for Prescott, and had joined the army as Washington's second 
in command, opposed the measure with warmth, as before. At first, Washington 
was embarrassed by their. divided opinions; but, relying upon his own judgment, 
which Avas strongly in favor of an engagement, he asked no further advice, and pro- 
ceeded to make arrangements for battle. 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 213 

that the two principal actions of the grand army in the 
preceding campaign, thongh bravely contested, had re- 
sulted unfortunately J^ Since the close of the campaign 
of '77, an alliance had been formed with France, whose 
fleets and armies were hourly expected on our coasts, 
while the demands of the people, and those often loudly 
expressed, were for battles.f Urged by these consider- 
ations, the American chief determined, haj)pen what 
would, to fight Sir Henry Clinton, so that he should not 
evacuate Philadelphia, and reach his stronghold in New 
York unscathed. Crossing the Delaware, the American 
approached his formidable foe, who, trusting in his supe- 
riority of numbers, discipline, and appointment, was 
leisurely wending his way toward Staten Island, the 
place of embarkation for New York. 

As a soldier, Washington Avas by nature the very soul 
of enterprise ; but, fortunately for his fame and for his 
country, this daring spirit was tempered by a judgment 
and ^^I'udence the most happy in their characters and 
effects. And yet an illustrious patriot and statesman of 
the Revolution, and most accomplished writer (Mr. Jeffer- 
son), has said that the Pater Patriae was rather the Fa- 
bius than the Marcellus of war, his extreme caution 
fitting him better for the cool and methodical operations 
of sieges than for the daring strategy of surprise, or the 

* Brandywine and Germantown. 

t The first movement of the French government, in compliance with the provi- 
sions of the treaty of friendship and alliance made with the Americans, was to 
despatch a squadron, consisting of twelve ships of the line and four large frigates, 
under Count D'Estaing, to blockade the British fleet in the Delaware. Fortu- 
nately for Admiral Howe, he received from the British ministry timely notice of the 
fitting out of this armament, and left the Delaware in time to escape the blockade, 
and took post, with his fleet, in the bay between Staten Island and Sandy Hook. 
D'Estaing arrived off the capes of the Delaware, on the eighth of July, 1778. 



214 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

close and stubborn conflict of the field/== Never was 
there such a misconception of a great soldier's attributes. 

* The following interesting sketch of the character of Washington was drawn by 
the pen of Jeiferson, at Monticello, his seat in Virginia, on the second of January, 
1814, in a letter to Doctor Walter Jones of Virginia, who had written an able letter 
to the venerable statesman, on parties in the United States, and proposed to prepare 
another. In his letter, Doctor Jones had expressed some doubt concerning Wash- 
ington as a topic, to which Jefferson replied, as follows : — 

" You say that in taking General Washington on your shoulders, to bear him 
harmless through the federal coalition, you encounter a periloas topic. I do not 
think so ; you have given the genuine history of the course of his mind through the 
trying scenes in which it was engaged, and of the seductions by which it was 
deceived, but not depraved. I think I knew General Washington intimately and 
thoroughly ; and were I called on to delineate his character, it should be in terms 
like these. 

" His mind was great and powerful, without being of the very first order; his pene- 
tration strong, though not so acute as that of a Newton, Bacon, or Locke ; and as 
far as he saw, no judgment was ever sounder. It was slow in operation, being little 
aided by invention or imagination, but sure in conclusion. Hence the common 
remark of his officers, of the advantage he derived from councils of war, where hear- 
ing all suggestions, he selected wliatever was best ; and certainly no general ever 
planned his battles more judiciously. But if deranged during the course of the 
action, if any member of his plan was dislocated by sudden circumstances, he was 
slow in re-adjustment. The consequence was that he often failed in the field, and 
rarely against an enemy in station, as at Boston and York. He was incapable oi 
fear, meeting personal dangers with the calmest unconcern. Perhaps the strongest 
feature in his character was prudence, never acting until every circumstance, every 
consideration was maturely weighed ; refraining if he saw a doubt, but, when once 
decided, going through with his purpose whatever obstacles opposed. His integrity 
was most pure, his justice the most inflexible I have ever known, no motives of 
interest or consanguinity, of friendship or hatred, being able to bias his decision. 
He was indeed, in every sense of the word, a wise, a good, and a great man. His 
temper was naturally irritable and high-toned ; but reflection and resolution had 
obtained a firm and habitual ascendency over it. If ever, however, it broke its 
bonds, he was most tremendous in his wrath. In his expenses he was honorable, 
but exact; liberal in contributions to whatever promised utility; but frowning and 
unyielding on all visionary projects and all unworthy calls on his charity. His 
heart was not warm in its aff"ections ; but he exactly calculated every man's value, 
and gave him a solid esteem proportioned to it. His person, you know, was fine, 
his stature exactly what one would wish, his deportment easy, erect, and noble ; the 
best horseman of his age, and the most graceful figure that could be seen on horse- 
back. Although, in the circle of his friends, where he might be unreserved witli 
safety, he took a free share in conversation, his colloquial talents were not above 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 215 

Did not this, modern Fabius, in the very depth of winter, 
find after overcoming mighty obstacles, surprise his ene- 

nicdiocrity, possessing neither copiousness of ideas, nor fluency of words. In public, 
when called on for a sudden opinion, he was unready, short, and embarrassed. Yet 
he wrote readily, rather diffusely, in an easy and correct style. This he had acquired 
by conversation with the world, for his education was merely readinif , writintj, and com- 
mon arithmetic, to which he added survej-ing at a later day. His time was employed 
in action chiefly, reading little, and that only in agriculture and English history. His 
correspondence became necessarily extensive, and, witli journalizing his agricultural 
proceedings, occupied most of his leisure hours within doors, 

" On the whole, his character was, in its mass, perfect, in nothing bad, in few points 
indifferent; and it may truly be said tliat never did nature and fortune combine more 
perfectly to make a man great, and to place him in the same constellation with what- 
ever worthies have merited from man an everlasting remembrance. For his was the 
singular destiny and merit of leading the armies of his country successfully through 
an arduous war, for the establishment of its independence ; of conducting its councils 
through the birth of a government new in its forms and principles, until it hnd set- 
tled down into a quiet and orderly train ; and of scrupulously obeying the laws i hrough 
the whole of his career, civil and military, of which the history of the world fur- 
nishes no other example. How then can it be perilous for you to take such a man 
on your shoulders 1 I am satisfied the great body of republicans think of him as I 
do — we were indeed dissatisfied with him on his ratification of the British treaty, 
but this was short-lived. We knew his honesty, the wiles with which he was 
encompassed, and that age had already begun to relax the firmness of his purposes : 
and I am convinced he is more deeply seated in the love and gratitude of the 
republicans, than in the pharisaical homage of the federal monarchists. For he was 
no monarchist from preference of his judgment. The soundness of that gave him 
correct views of the rights of man, and his severe jusiice devoted him lo them. 
He has often declared to me that he considered our new constitution as an experi- 
ment on the practicability of republican government, and with what dose of liberty 
man could be trusted for his own good : that he was determined the experiment should 
have a fair trial, and would lose the last drop of his blood in support of it. And 
tliese declarations he repeated to me tlic ofcener, and the more pointedly, because he 
knew my suspicions of Colonel Hamilton's views, and probably had heard from him 
the same declarations which I had, to wit: 'That the British constitution, with its 
unequal representation, corruption, and other existing abuses, was the most perfect 
government which had ever been established on earth, and that a reformation of 
those abuses would make it an impracticable government.' I do believe that 
General Washington had not a firm confidence in the durability of our government. 
He was naturally distrustful of men, and inclined to gloomy apprehensions ; and I 
was ever persuaded that a belief that we must at length end in something like a 
British constitution, had some weight in his adoption of the ceremonies of levees, 
birth-dnys, pompous meetings with Congress, and other forms of the same character, 



216 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

my at Trenton, and r^all Victory to liis standard, when 
Hope was almost sinking in despair ? Did he not, by a 
masterly manoeuvre and midnight march, surprise his 
enemy in Princeton, and add yet another laurel to the 
one acquired by the capture of the Hessians ? Did he 
not, with an army hastily raised, and defeated at Brandy- 
wine, in twenty-three days thereafter, surprise the enemy 
at Germantown ? And though victory was denied him 
by a force of circumstances no human power could have I- 
controlled, yet the boldness of the enterprise, and the 
success attending it in the outset, produced such a con- 
fidence abroad in our courage and resources, as to lead 
to our alliance with a powerful nation. Did he not sur- 
prise the enemy at Monmouth ? And, although untoward 
events served to cripple the operations of the early part 
of the day, yet the setting-sun shone upon the battle-. 
field in possession of the Americans, the enemy retreat- 



oalculated to prepare us gradually for a change which he believed possible, and to 
let it come on with as little shock as might be to the public mind. These are my 
opinions of General Washington, which I would vouch at the judgment seat of God, 
having been formed on an acquaintance of thirty years. I served with him in the 
Virginia legislature from 1769 to the Revolutionary war, and again a short time in 
Congress, until he left us to take command of the army. During the war, and 
after it, we corresponded occasionally, and in the four years of my continuance in 
the office of secretary of state, our intercourse was daily, confidential, and cordial 
After I retired from that ofHce great and malignant pains were taken by our federal 
monarchists, and not entirely without effect, to make him view me as a theorist, 
holding French principles of government which would lead infallibly to licentious- 
ness and anarchy. And to this he listened the more easily from my known disappro- 
bation of the British treaty. I never saw him afterwards, or these malignant insinu- 
ations should have been dissipated before his just judgment as mists before the sun. 
I felt, on his death, with my countrymen, that 'verily a great man liath fiillen this 
day in Israel.' 

" More time and recollection would enable me to add many other traits of his 
character ; but why add them to you who know him well 1 and I can not justify to 
myself a longer detention of your paper. 

" Vale, proprieque tuum, me esse tibi persiiadeas. 

"Th. Jefferson." 



I 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 217 

ing, and their dead and wonnded left as trophies to the 
victors. Such were the memorable instances in which 
Washington, with troops newly raised, and badly pro- 
vided Avith every necessary of war, struck at his veteran 
and well-appointed foe when least expected, producing 
the happiest influences upon the American cause, both 
at home and abroad ; for it is perfectly well known that 
the battle of Germantown decided the ministry of France 
to form the alliance that so materially contributed to 
the conclusion of the war and the consummation of our 
independence.'-- 

As the commander-in-chief, accompanied by a numer- 
ous suite, approached the vicinity of Monmouth court- 
house,f he was met by a little fifer-boy, who archly ob- 
served, "They are all coming this way, your honor." 
" Who are coming, my little man," asked General Knox. 
" Why, our boys, your honor, our boys, and the British 
right after them," replied the little musician. " Impossi- 
ble," exclaimed Washington ! And giving the spur to 
his charger, proceeded at full gallop to an eminence a 
short distance ahead. There, to his extreme pain and 
mortification, it was discovered that the boy's intelligence 
was but too true. The very elite of the American army, 

* This battle had a powerful influence, no doubt, but the conquest over the nrmy 
of Burgoyne, it must be acknowledged, was far more potent. That conquest, and 
the general failure of the campaign of 1777, produced a marked sensation ujion the 
legislature and the common mind of Great Britain, and a great majority of the peo- 
ple and a powerful minority in Parliament, were clamorous for peace and reconcili- 
ation. Even Lord North, who had so long, as prime minister of England, treated 
tlie Americans with scorn, proposed, soon after hearing of the surrender of Burgoyne, 
a repeal of all the acts of Parliament obnoxious to the Americans, which had been 
enacted since 1763 ! But in this the minister was not sincere, and tiiese propositions 
were called " dcceptionary bills," in America. 

t This was situated at the present village of Freehold, the capital of Monmouth 
county, New Jersey. 



t 



218 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

five tliousand picked officers and men, were in full re- 
treat, closely pursued by the enemy /^' The first inquiry 

* General Clinton lay near Monmouth courthouse, on the night of the twenty-seventh 
of June. The next day he would reach the heights of Middletown, when liis strength 
would therehy he greatly increased. Wasliington determined to attack him the 
moment he should commence his march. Lafayette was then at Englishtown, a few 
miles in the rear of the enemy, to watch Sir Henry's movements. General Lee was 
sent with two brigades to join Lafayette, and, as senior officer, to take the general 
command of the whole division designed for making the first attack. At the same 
time, the main body, under Washington, encamped within three miles of English- 
town. Leo was ordered to make an attack when Sir Henry should attempt to move. 
Before daylight, on the morning of the twenty-eighth of June, several other 
American corps were in motion toward the flank and rear of the enemy, and by 
eight o'clock, the whole British army had taken up its line of march. Lee, with four 
thousand troops, exclusive of Morgan's riflemen, and tiie Jersey militia, pressed for- 
ward under cover of a forest to an open field, and formed his line for action, while 
"Wayne was detailed with seven hundred men and two pieces of artillery, to attack 
tlie covering parties in the rear of the enemy. A little after nine, while Wayne was 
prosecuting his attack with vigor, he received an order from Lee to make only a 
feigned attack, and not push on too precipitately. Wayne was disappointed, irri- 
tated, and chagrined, for he felt that liis commander had plucked the palm of victory J 
irom his hand ; but, like a true soldier, he obeyed, hojnng Lee would recover what I 
he had evidently lost. But in this, too, he was disappointed. Clinton had changed 
front, and a large body of his cavalry approached cautiously toward the right of Lee's 
troops. Liifnyette thought this a fine opportunity to gain the rear of Clinton's divi 
sion, and riding quickly up to Lee, asked permission to make the attempt. "Sir," 
replied Lee, "you do not know British soldiers; we can not stand against them; we 
shall certainly be driven back at first, and we must be cautious." Lafayette was 
disposed to make the trial, and Lee partially complied. He then weakened Wayne's • 
division by drawing ofi^ three companies to the support of the right. Soon after this, I 
bv Lee's order, a general retreat commenced, witiiout any apparent cause. The 
British pursued ; a panic seized the Americans, and they fled in great confusion. 
These were the fugitives met by Washington. The chief was surprised and exasper- 
ated, and on this occasion, his feelings completely controlled his judgment for a 
moment. When he met Lee, he exclaimed in fierce tones, " What is the meaning 
of all this, sir?" 

Lee hesitated a moment, when, according to Lafayette, tiie aspect of WashingtOQ 
became terrible, and he again demanded — "I desire to know the meaning of this 
disorder and confusion !" 

The fiery Lee, stung by Washington's manner, made an angry reply, when the 
chief, unable to control himself, called him "a damned poltroon." " This," said 
Lafayette, when relating tlie circumstance to Governor Tompkins, in 1824, while on 
his visit to this country, " was the only time I ever heard General Washington swear." 

Lee attempted a hurried cxplauatiun, and after a fe\v more angry words between 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 219 

of the chief was for Major-General Lee, who commanded 
the advance, and who soon appeared, when a warm con- 
versation ensued, that ended by the major-general being 
ordered to the rear. During this interview, an inciden 
of rare and chivahic interest occurred. Lieutenant 
Colonel Hamilton, aid to the general-in-chief, leaped from 
his horse, and, drawing his sword, addressed the general 
with — " We are betrayed ; your excellency and the army 
are betrayed, and the moment has arrived when every 
true friend of America and her cause must be ready to die 
in their defence.'"-^ Washington, charmed with the gen- 
erous enthusiasm of his favorite aid, yet deemed the same 
ill-thned, and pointing to the colonel's horse that was 
cropping the herbage, unconscious of the great scene en- 
acting around him, calmly observed, " Colonel Hamilton, 
you will take your horse." 

The general-in-chief now set himself in earnest about 
restoring the fortunes of the day. He ordered Colonel 
Stewart and Lieutenantr-Colonel Ramsay, with their regi- 
ments, to check the advance of the enemy, which service 
was gallantly performed ; while the general, in person, 
proceeded to form his second line. He rode, on the 
morning of the twenty-eighth of June, and for that time 

them, Washington departed to form his line. Then riding back to Lee in calmer 
mind,' he said, " Will you retain the command on this height or not ? If you will, 1 
will return to the main body, and have it formed on the next height." 

Lee replied, " It is equal to me wliere I command." 

" I expect you will take proper means for checking the enemy," said Washington. 

"Your orders shall be obeyed," rejoined Lee; "and I shall not be the first to 
leave the ground." 

After the battle, Lee wrote insulting letters to Washington. He was arraigned 
before a court-martial, because of his conduct on the twenty-eighth, and was sus- 
jjended from all command, for one year. 
■ * This is explained in a future chapter of these Recollections, which is entitled. 

Mysteries of the Revolution." 



220 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

only during the war, a white charger, that had been pre- 
sented to him/'' From the over-powering heat of the 
day, and the deep and sandy nature of the soil, the 
spirited horse sank under his rider, and expired on the 
spot. The chief was instantly remounted upon a chest- 
nut blood-mare, with a flowing mane and tail, of Arabian 
breed, which his servant Billy was leading. It Avas 
upon this beautiful animal, covered with foam, that the 
American general flew along the line, cheering the sol- 
diers in the familiar and endearing language ever used 
by the officer to the soldier of the Revolution, of " Stand 
fast, my hoys, and receive your enemy ; the southern troops 
are advancing to support you." 

The person of Washington, always graceful, dignified, 
and commanding, showed to peculiar advantage when 
mounted ; it exhibited, indeed, the very heau ideal of a 
perfect cavalier. The good Lafayette, during his last 
visit to America, delighted to discourse of the "times 
that tried men's souls."f From the venerated friend of 
our country we derived a most graphic description of 
Washington and the field of battle. Lafiiyette said, 
" At MonmoLith I commanded a division, and, it may be 
supposed, I was pretty well occupied ; still I took time, 
amid the roar and confusion of the conflict, to admire 
our beloved chief, who, mounted on a splendid charger, 
rode along the ranks amid the shouts of the soldiers, 

* This fine horse was presented to Washington, by Governor William Livingston, 
of New Jersey, after tlie eliief had crossed the Delaware into his state. 

t This now trite expression, originated with Thomas Paine, author of Common 
Sense, TJie Crisis, etc. He commenced his second number of The Crisis, written in 
December, 1776, as follows: "These are the times that try bien's souls. 
The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the ser- 
vice of his country; but he that stands it noio, deserves the thanks of man and 
woman." 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 221 

clieering them by his voice and example, and restoring 
to om^ standard the fortunes of the fight. I thought 
then as now," continued Lafayette, "that never had I 
beheld so mperh a man." 

Among the incidents of this memorable day may be 
considered, on the part of the British, the death of the 
Honorable Colonel Monckton, a brother of Earl Galway. 
It is said this gallant and accomplished officer had greatly 
injured his fortune by the dissipations incident to a long 
sojourn in city quarters, and that, in consequence, he ex- 
posed himself recklessly on the twenty-eighth of June. 
He w^as nuach regretted in the British army.'-' 

On the part of the Americans, the fate of the young 
and brave Captain Fauntleroy, of the Virginia line, was 

* The flying Americans were checked by Washington, and were soon formed into 
battle order, and led into action. The battle became general. It was one of the hottest 
days on record, and many, on both sides, died from the effects of the heat. The 
British grenadiers, the finest corps in the army, were commanded by Colonel 
Monckton. They had been repulsed several times by Wayne, and Monckton de- 
termined to drive him, from his strong position. He advanced silently, and when 
near enough for the purpose, he waved his sword, shouting, " On my brave grenadiers 
to the charge !" and at their head rushed forward with impetuosity. A terrible 
volley from Wayne's artillery swept the ranks of the foe, and Monckton fell, mortally 
wounded. Over his body the warriors fought desperately, until the Americans 
secured it and bore it to the rear. 

Monckton was a gallant officer. He was a lieutenant-colonel in the battle of Long 
Island, where he was shot through the body. On the day after the battle at Mon- 
mouth, his remains were deposited in the burial-ground of the Freehold meeting- 
house, near the west end of the building. The only monument that marked his 
grave a few years ago, when I visited the spot, was a plain board, painted red, ou 
which were drawn, in black letters, the words : — 

" HIC JACET. 

COL. MONCKTON, 

KILLED, 28 JUNE, 

177S. 

W. R. W." 

This was erected by a worthy Scotch schoolmaster, named William R. Wilson 
An engraving of it, and also of the meetinghouse, may be found in Lossing's Field' 
Book of the. Revolution. 



222 RECOLLECTIONS OF AVASHINGTON. 

remarkable. He was on horseback, at a well near a farm- 
house, waiving his turn, while the fainting soldiers, con- 
sumed by a thirst arising from their exertions on the 
hottest day supposed ever to have occurred in America, 
were rushing with frantic cries, to the well, imploring 
for water. The captain, with the point of his sword rest- 
ing on his boot, his arm leaning on the pommel, con-i 
tinned to waive his turn, when' a cannon-shot, boundin J 
down the lane that led to the farmhouse, struck the un4 
fcrtunate officer near the hip, and hurled him to the 
ground a lifeless corse. The lamented Fauntleroy was 
descended from one of the old and highly-respected fami- 
lies of Virginia. Leaving the comforts of home and the 
delights of a large circle of friends, this gallant young 
soldier repaired to the standard of his country early in 
the campaign of 1776. He was greatly respected in his 
grade, and his imtimely fate was deeply mourned in the 
American army. i 

Heedless of the remonstrances and entreaties of his ■ 
officers, the commander-in-chief exposed his person to 
ever}^ danger throughout the action of the twenty-eighth | 
of June. The night before the battle of Monmouth, a 
party of the general officers assembled, and resolved upon 
a memorial to the chief, praying that he would not ex- 
pose his person in the approaching conflict. His high 
and chivalric daring and contempt for danger at the 
battle of Princeton, and again at Germantown, where his 
officers seized the bridle of his horse, made his friends 
the more anxious for the preservation of a life so dear to 
all, and so truly important to the success of the common 
cause. It was determined that the memorial should be 
presented by Doctor Craik, the companion-in-arms of 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 223 

Colonel "VYasliington in the war of 1755; but Craik at 
once assured the memorialists that, while their petition 
would be received as a proof of their affectionate regard 
for their general's safety, it would not weigh a feather 
in preventing the exposure of his person, should the day 
go against them, and the presence of the chief become 
important at the post of danger. Doctor Craik then re- 
lated the romantic and imposing incident of the old 
Indian's prophecy, as it occurred on the banks of the 
Ohio in 1770, observing that, bred, as he himself was, in 
the rigid discipline of the Kirk of Scotland, he possessed 
as little superstition as any one, but that really there 
was a sometliino- in the air and manner of an old savno-e 
chief delivering his oracle amid the depths of the forest, 
that time or circumstance would never erase from his 
memory, and that he believed with the tawny prophet 
of the wilderness, that their beloved Washington was the 
spirit-protected being described by the savage, that the 
enemy could not kill him, and that while he lived the 
glorious cause of American Independence would never 
die.'^ 

On the following day, while the commander-in-chief, 
attended by his officers, were reconnoitring the enemy 
from an elevated part of the field, a round-shot from the 
British artillery struck but a little way from his horse's 
feet, throwing up the earth over his person, and then 
bounding harmlessly away. The Baron Steuben, shrug- 
ging up his shoulders, exclaimed, " Dat wash very near," 
while Doctor Craik, pleased with this confirmation of his 
fiiith in the Indian's prophecy, nodded to the officers who 
composed the party of the preceding evening, and then, 

* Seo chapter entitled, "Indian Prophecy." 



224 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

pointing to Heaven, seemed to say, in the words of the 
savage prophet, " The Great Spirit protects him j he can 
not clie in battle." 

A hidicrous occiu-rence varied the incidents of the 
twenty-eighth of June. The servants of the general 
officers were usually well-armed and mounted. "Will 
Lee, or Billy, the former huntsman, and favorite body- 
servant of the chief, a square muscular figure, and capital 
horseman, paraded a corps of valets, and, riding pomp- 
ously at their head, proceeded to an eminence crowned 
by a large sycamore-tree, from Avhence could be seen an 
extensive portion of the field of battle. Here Billy 
halted, and, having unslung the large telescope that he 
always carried in a leathern case, with a martial air ap- 
plied it to his eye, and reconnoitred the enemy.==' Wash- 
ington having observed these manoeuvres of the corps 
of valets, pointed them out to his officers, observing, 
"See those fellows collecting on yonder height; the 
enemy will fire on them to a certainty." Meanwhile ' 
the British were not unmindful of the assemblage on the 
height, and perceiving a burly figure well-mounted, and 
wdth a telescope in hand, they determined to pay their 
respects to the group. A shot from a six-pounder passed 
through the tree, cutting away the limbs, and producing 
a scampering among the corps of valets, that caused even 
the grave countenance of the general-in-chief to relax 
into a smile. 

Nor must we omit, among our incidents of the battle 
of Monmouth, to mention the achievement of the famed 
Captain Molly, a mm de guerre given to the wife of a 

* The telescope is in possession (1859) of the VAishington family, and has always 
been a consjjicuous object upon the wall of the great passage at JMount Vernon, 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 225 

niatross in Proctor's artillery. At one of tlie guns of 
Proctor's battery, six men had been killed or wounded. 
It was deemed an unlucky gun, and murmurs arose that 
it should be drawn back and abandoned. At this juncture, 
while Captain Molly was serving some water for the re- 
freshment of the men, her husband received a shot in the 
head, and fell lifeless under the wheels of the piece. The 
heroine threw down the pail of water, and crying to her 
dead consort, " Lie there my darling while I revenge ye," 
grasped the ramrod the lifeless hand of the poor fellow 
had just relinquished, sent home the charge, and called 
to the matrosses to prime and fire. It was done. Then 
entering the sponge into the smoking muzzle of the can- 
non, the heroine performed to admiration the duties of 
the most expert artilleryman, while loud shouts from the 
soldiers rang along the line. The doomed gun was no 
longer deemed unlucky, and the fire of the battery be- 
came more vivid than ever. The Amazonian fair one 
kept to her post till night closed the action, when she 
was introduced to General Greene, who, complimenting 
her upon her courage and conduct, the next morning 
presented her to the commander-in-chief Washington 
received her graciously, gave her a piece of gold, and as- 
sured her that her services should not be foro-otten. 

This remarkal)le and intrepid woman survived the 
Revolution, never for an instant laying aside the appella- 
tion she had so nobly won, and levying contributions 
upon both civil and military, whenever she recounted the 
tale of the doomed gun, and the famed Captain Molly at 
the battle of Monmouth.* 

* Molly was a sturdy young camp-follower, only twentj'-two years of age, and, in 
devotion to her husband, she illustrated the character of her countrywomen of "the 



226 RECOLLECTIONS OF "WASHINGTON. 

On the niglit of the memorable conflict, Washmgton 
laid down in his cloak under a tree, in the midst of his 
brave soldiers. About midnight, an officer approached 
cautiously, fearful of awakening him, when the chief 
called out, " Advance, sir, and deliver your errand. I lie 
here to thinJc and not to sleep." 

, In the morning the American army prepared to renew 
the conflict, but the enemy had retired during the niglit, 
leaving their dead and many of their wounded to the 
care of the victors.''"' Morgan's mountaineers pursued on 

Emerald isle." When her husband fell, and there appeared to be no one to take his 
place at the gun, the officer in command ordered it to be removed. Then she took 
her husband's place, as related in the text. Washington conferred upon her the 
commission of a sergeant, which her husband held, and by his recommendation her 
name was placed upon the list of half-pay officers, for life. Sergeant Molly left the army 
soon after the battle of Monmouth, and made her abode in the Hudson Highlands, 
near Fort Clinton, where, during the attack upon that fortress the previous autumn, 
she had displayed her heroism. She was there with her husband. When the British 
scaled the ramparts, he dropped his match and fled. Molly caught it up, touched 
off the piece, and then scampered away with the rest of the garrison. She fired the 
last gun at Fort Clinton. The venerable widow of General Hamilton told me that 
she had often seen Sergeant Molly, who was generally called captain. She described 
her as a stout, red-haired, freckled faced young Irish woman, with a handsome, 
piercing eye. The French officc«i-s, charmed with the story of her bravery, made her 
many presents. She would sometimes pnss along the French lines, when they were 
in Westchester county, with her cocked hat, and get it almost filled with silver 
crowns. She wore a hybrid costume after the war — the petticoat of her sex, with 
an artilleryman's uniform over it. This woman died near Fort Montgomery, a 
victim to the indulgence of licentiousness. Art and Romance have confounded her 
with another character, Moll Pitcher. 

* Sir Henry Clinton dared not risk another engagement. Both parties lay upon 
their arms during the evening after the battle. The Americans slept until morning; 
but the British commenced moving silently away from the field at midnight. Sir 
Henry Clinton was unwilling to give the impression that he made the movement by 
stealth, so he wrote to the ministry, saying, " Having reposed the troops until ten at 
right, to avoid the excessive heat of the day, I took advantage of the moonlight to re- 
join General Knyphausen, who had advanced to Nut swamp, near MidJletown." 
This assertion caused much merriment in America, becau-e, according to Poor 
Will's Almanac, published in Philadelphia by Joseph Cruikshank, it was new moon 
on the twenty-fourth of June, and on the night of the battle was only four days ild 



f 



BATTLE OF MONMOUTH. 227 

their trail, and made some captures, particularly the 
coach of a general officer. 

The British grand army embarked for Staten Island. 
The number, order, and regularity of the boats, and the 
splendid apjoearance of the troops, rendered this embark- 
ation one of the most brilliant and imposing spectacles 
of the Revolutionary war.* 

Congress passed a unanimous vote of thanks to the 
general-in-chief, his officers and soldiers, for the prompt- 

and set at fifty-five minutes past ten. Trumbull, in his M'Fingal, thus alludes to 
the circumstance : — 

" He farms his camp with great parade, 
While evening spreads the world in shade, 
Then still, like some endangered spark, 
Steals off on tiptoe in the dark ; 
Yet writes his king in boasting tone. 
How grand he marched by light of moon ! 



Go on, great general, nor regard 
The scoffs of every scribbling bard. 
Who sings how gods, that fearful night. 
Aided, by miracle, your flight ; 
As once they used in flomer's day. 
To help weak heroes run away ; 
Tells how the hours, at this sad trial, 
Went back, as erst on Ahaz's dial, 
While British Joshua stayed the moon 
On Monmouth's plain for Ajalon. 
Heed not their sneers or gibes so arch. 
Because she set before your march." 

* The Americans were ignorant of the departure of the enemy until dawn, when 
they were three hours on their way toward the shore. Washington considered pur- 
suit to be fruitless, for his men were greatly fatigued, the heat was excessive, the 
soil was loose sand, and very little water could be found. Earl Howe's fleet was 
then lying in the waters between Staten Island and Sandy Hook, and on board of 
1 these vessels Sir Henry's troops were conveyed in boats from the latter port, on the 
i thirtieth, and he escaped to New York. Washington marched his army to Bruns- 
j wick, and thence to the Hudson river, which he crossed at King's ferry, just below 
I the Highlands, and encamped near White Plains, in Westchester county. 



228 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

ness of their march from Valley Forge, and their surprise 
and defeat of the enemy ; and 2ifeu dejoie was fired by the 
whole American army for the victory of Monmouth* 

* On the seventh of July, the continental Congress adopted the following resolu- 
tions : — 

" Resolved unanimously, That the thanks of Congress he given to General Washing- 
ton for the activity with which he marched from the camp at Valley Forge in pur- 
suit of the enemy ; for his distinguished exertions in forming the line of battle ; and 
for his great good conduct in leading on the attack and gaining the important victory 
of Monmouth over the British grand army, under the command of General Sir Henry 
Clinton, in their march from Philadelphia to New York. 

" Resolved, That General Washington be directed to signify the thanks of Congress 
to the gallant officers and men under his command, who distinguished themsolvei 
by their conduct and valor at the battle of Monmouth." 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 229 



CHAPTER VT. 

THE SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 

Db Grasse expected from the West Indies — Intended Attack upon New York — The 
Enterprise abandoned — March or the Allied Armies for Virginia — Sib Henet 
Clinton and Lord Cornwallis — Washington's intercepted Letter — Arrival op 
CoifNT DE Grasse — Lafayette's Generosity — Washington and Count de Kochambeau 
IN Virginia — Visit to the Ville de Paris — Anecdote — Anticipated Trouble- 
Naval Battle — Approach op Allied Troops to Yorktown — The Siege of York- 
town — Incidents op the Siege — Washington exposed to Danger — A Soldier's Ap- 
peal — Patriotism of Governor Nelson — Cornwallis's Headquarters — Foolish Dar- 
ing OP AN Officer — News of the Surrender of Cornwallis — Cornwallis's Attempt 
to Escape — The Surrender op the British Army — Washington's War-horse — Corn- 
wallis AT Washington's Table — Colonel Taeleton Humiliated — Sickness at York- 
town — Death of John Parke Custis — Washington's Grief and Kindness.* 

The campaign of 1781 was considerably advanced, 
without any decided advantages to the combined armies, 
when the chevalier de Barras, the commander of the 
French naval forces at Rhode Island,* announced to Gen- 

* This chapter was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the nineteenth 
of October, 1840. 

t On the sixth of February, 1778, France formally acknowledged the Indepen- 
dence of the United States, and entered into an alliance with them by solemn treaty. 
A French fleet was immediately fitted out at Toulon, and sent to aid the Americans, 
under the command of the Count D'Estaing. His performances on our coasts dis- 
appointed the Americans. The Marquis de Lafayette, then serving in the armies of 
the United States, procured leave of absence for one year, returned to France, and 
by great personal eiForts, induced the king to send a much more powerful and sub- 
stantial aid to the Americans, in the form of a strong naval and military force, arms, 
ammunition, and money. Admiral de Ternay was appointed commander of the 
fleet, and the Count de Rochambeau the leader of the land forces. The French fleet 
appeared ofi^ the coasts of Virginia, on the fourth of July, 1780, and on the evening 
of the tenth entered Newport harbor. There the fleet and army retained their head- 
quarters until the following year, and were comparatively inactive. Admiral Ternay 



230 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

eral Wasliington that the Count de Grasse would sail 
from the West Indies, with a powerful fleet and three 
thousand troops, on the' third of August, and might be 
expected in the Chesapeake about the first of September 
Upon the receipt of this agreeable intelligence, the allies 
lost no time in preparing for the investiture of New 
York ; the Americans approaching gradually toward the 
city, and the French from Newport, the two armies 
forming a junction at Dobbs's ferry, on the Hudson* 
Large bodies of troops were moved toward Staten Island, 
the first object of attack ;f extensive magazines were 
collected, ovens built,J and everything indicating that 
the fleet alone was wantino; to commence the sieG:e in 
earnest, when, in the midst of these demonstrations, the 
combined armies suddenly decamped, and masking New 
York, proceeded in full march for the South. 

The reasons that induced Washington thus to change 
the scene of his operations were, some of them, governed 

had died soon after its arrival, and was buried with distinguished honors in Trinity 
churchyard, at Newport, and Admiral de Ban-as, mentioned in the text, became his 
successor in the command, the following spring. 

* Dobbs's ferry is about twenty-two miles from the city of New York. There the 
combined armies of the United States and France first met. Washington, hoping; 
to secure the co-operation of the Count de Grasse, with a French fleet then in the 
West'Indies, had conceived a plan for attacking the headquarters of the British 
arm}' at New York. He held an interview with Rochambeau, at Hartford, late in 
May, and an arrangement was made for the French army to march to Hudson's 
river as speedily as possible, and form a junction with the Americans encamped 
there. Four thousand fresh troops were soon in motion, and reached the Hudson, 
near Dobbs's ferry, early in July. 

t Staten Island, between which and the city of New York, is the fine bay and 
harbor of New York, was an important point in the programme of operations against 
the enemy. There many of the British troops were encamped, and its heights com- 
manded every opening to the sea. 

J The remains of these ovens were to be seen in some places in that vicinity ; 
until within a very recent period. 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOAVN. 231 

bj circumstances beyond his control, especially as re- 
garded the co-023eration of the French naval forces. The 
Coimt de Grasse preferred the Chesapeake to the bay of 
New York, as being better suited to his large vessels, 
while the admiral, being limited in his remaining in the 
American waters to a certain and an early day, could 
most conveniently render his assistance in the South.'"" 
This, together with other and imposing considerations, 
induced the American general, while continuing to 
threaten Sir Henry Clinton, to strike at Cornwallis in 
Virginia.* 

Sir Henry Clinton, aw^are that a powerful French fleet 
^Y(ls destined for the American coast, and presuming that, 
upon its arrival, a combined attack would be made upon 
New York, ordered Earl Cornwallis, then pursuing his 
victorious career in Virginia, to fall down upon the tide- 
water, and, after selecting a spot where he could con- 
veniently embark a part of his troops to reinforce his 



* When the tletermination of the Count dc Grasse was made known to Washing- 
ton, he was sorely disappointed, for the recapture of New York seemed to be cer- 
tainly promised, if the admiral's co-operation could be had. Wasiiington was tlien 
at the house of Van Brugh Livingston, at Dobbs's ferry, and Robert Morris, then 
superintendent of finance, and Richard Peters, secretary of the board of war, wcro 
present. The cloud of disappointment upon Washington's brow remained only for 
1 a moment. He received the despatch from De Barras, mentioned in the first' para- 
I graph of this chapter, and he instantly conceived an expedition against Cornwallis, 
in Virginia. Turning to Peters, he asked, " What can you do for me ?" — " With 
I money, everything, without it nothing," was his brief reply, at the same time turning 
I an anxious look toward Morris. " Let me know the sum you desire," said the 
\ patriotic financier, comprehending the expression of his eye. Before noon Washing- 
' ton had completed his estimates, and arrangements were made with Morris for the 
1 funds. Twenty thousand hard dollars were loaned from Count de Rochambeau, 
! which Mr. Morris agreed to replace by the first of October. The arrival of Colonel 
' Laurens from France, on the twenty-fifth of August, with two millions and a half of 
|l livres, a part of a donation of six millions by Louis XIV. to the United States, 
I enabled the superintendent of finance to fulfil his engagement, without difficulty. • 



232 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

commander-in-chief, to entrench the remainder, and await 
further orders.'*'' But the sudden and unexpected marcli 
of the combined armies to the South entirely changed 
the aspects of military affairs. It was now the earl, and 
not Sir Henry, that required reinforcement, and Sir 
Henry again writing to his lordship, bade him strengthen 
his position at Yorktown, promising him the immediate 
aid of both land and naval forces.^ 

Meantime, Washington had written a letter to the 
Marquis de Lafayette, then in Virginia, which he caused 



* At the close of 1780, Benedict Arnold, the traitor, was in the service of his 
royal purchaser; and at the commencement of 1781, he invaded lower Virginia with 
about sixteen hundred British and Tory troops. He penetrated as far as Peters- 
burgh, where he was joined by Lord Cornwalli:', in May. The earl took command 
of all the British forces then in Virginia, who were opposed by a considerable army 
under Lafayette. He attempted the subjugation of the state, and penetrated the 
country into Hanover county, beyond Richmond, marking his pathway with the 
destruction of an immense amount of property, public and private. Two other 
commanders soon appeared in the field against him — General Wayne, who came 
from victorious fields in Georgia, and the Baron von Steuben. Cornwallis soon 
found himself in peril, and moved slowly down the peninsula, between the York 
and James rivers, followed by Lafayette, Wayne, and Steuben. 

At Williamsburg, Cornwallis received the order from Sir Henry Clinton alluded 
to in the text, and, aware that he would be too weak after complying with it, to 
withstand the Americans, he crossed the James river, at old Jamestown, after a skir- 
mish with the republicans under Wayne, and proceeded to Portsmouth, opposite 
Norfolk. Disliking that situation, he went to Yorktown, on the York river, and 
commenced fortifying that place, and Gloucester Point, opposite. 

t The combined armies, after remaining about six weeks at Dobbs's ferry, crossed 
the Hudson at Verplanck's point, and under the general command of Lincoln, 
marched by different routes toward Trenton. By deceptive military movements, 
and letters that were intended to be intercepted, Washington misled Sir Henry 
Clinton with the belief that an attack upon New York was still in contemplation; 
and the British commander was not undeceived until the allied armies had crossed 
the Delaware, and were far on their way toward the Head of Elk. Clinton endea- 
vored to recall the republican armies, by sending Arnold to ravage the New England 
coasts, and other foi'ces to menace New Jersey and the Hudson Highlands, but in 
vain. The allies made their way rapidly toward Virginia, and the earl implored 
aid from Sir Henry. 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOAVN. lioo 

to be intercepted. In the letter he remarked that he 
was pleased with the probability that Earl Cornwallis 
would fortify either Portsmouth or Old Point Comfort, 
for, were he to fix upon YnrJdoivn, from its great capabilities 
of defence, he might remain there snugly and unharmed, 
until a superior British fleet would relieve him with 
strong reinforcements, or embark him altogether. 

This fated letter quieted the apprehensions of the 
British commander-in-chief as to the danger of his lieu- 
tenant, and produced those delaj^s in the operations of 
Sir Henry that tended materially to the success of the 
allies and the surrender of Yorktown.''' 

The fleet of the Count de Grasse, consisting: of twenty- 
eight sail of the line, and a due j^i'oportion of frigates, 
containing three thousand veteran troops under the 
Marquis de St. Simon, anchored in the Chesapeake on the 
thirtieth of August. f The frigates were immediately 

* Washington wrote other similar letters. The hearer of one of these was a youn:^ 
Baptist clergyman, named Montagnie, an ardent whig, who was directed by Wash- 
ington to carry a despatch to Morristown. He directed the messenger to cross tiie 
river at King's ferry, proceed by Haverstraw to the Ramapo clove, and through tho 
pass to Morristown. Montagnie, knowing the Ramapo pass to be in possession of 
the cow-boys and other friends of the enemy, ventured to suggest to the commander- 
in-chief that the upper road would be the safest. "I shall be taken," he said, "if I 
go through the clove." " Your duty, young man, is not to talk, but to obey \" re- 
plied Washington, sternly, enforcing his words by a vigorous stamp of his foot. 
Montagnie proceeded as directed, and, near the Ramapo pass, was caught. A few 
days afterward he was sent to New York, where he was confined in the Sugar-House, 
one of the famous provost prisons in the city. The day after his arrival, the con- 
tents of the despatches taken from him were published in Rivington's Gazette with 
great parade, for they indicated a plan of an attack upon the city. The enemy was 
alarmed thereby, and active preparations were put in motion for receiving the be- 
siegers. Montagnie now perceived why he was so positively instructed to go through 
the Ramapo pass, where himself and despatches were quite sure to be seized. — 
Lossing's FieJd-Book of the Revolution, i. 781, note. 

t Francois Joseph Paul, Count de Grasse, a native of France, was born in 172-3. 
He was appointed to command a French fleet, to co-operate with the Americans at 
the beginning of 1781. Although he was the junior, in service, of Count de Barras 



234 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

employed in conveying the troops up the James river, 
where they were landed, and reinforced the army of La- 
fayette, who then commanded in A^irginia. An instance 
of virtue and magnanimity that occurred at this period 
of our narrative adorns the fame and memory of La- 
fayette. 

Upon the arrival of the French land and liaval forces 
in our waters, their commanders said to Lafayette : 
" Now, marquis, now is your time ; a wreath of never- 
fading laurel is within your grasp ! Fame bids you seize 
it. With the veteran regiments of St. Simon, and youi 
own continentals, you have five thousand ; to these add 
a thousand marines, and a thousand seamen, to be landed 
from the fleet, making seven thousand good soldiers, 
which, with your militia, give you an aggregate exceed- 
ing ten thousand men. With these, storm the enemy's 
works while they are yet in an unfinished state, and be- 
fore the arrival of the combined armies you will end the 
war, and acquire an immortal renown." — "Believe me^ 
my dear sir," said the good Lafayette, during his visit in 
America, " this was a most tempting proposal to a young 
general of twenty-four, and who was not unambitious of 

he was made his superior in command, with the title of lieutenant-jreneral. His co 
operation was much more valuable to the Americans than that of D'Estaing; and in 
the capture of Cornwallis and his army at Yorktown, he played a very important 
part. His domestic relations seem to have been very unhappy, his second wife, 
•whom he married after leaving America, proving a very unworthy woman. His life 
was a burden to him, particularly after losing the favor of his king in consequence 
of an unfortunate military movement. He died early in 1788, at the age of sixty- 
live years. Alluding to the unhappiness of his latter days, Washington, in a letter 
to Rochambeau, April, 1788, on hearing of the death of De Grasse, said, " His frail- 
ties should now be buried in the grave with him, while his name will be long de- 
servedly dear to this country, on account of his successful co-operation in the glori- 
ous campaign of 1781. The Cincinnati in some of the states have gone into mourn- 
ing for him." 



SUREENDER AT YORKTOWN. 235 

f^ime by honest means ; but insuperable reasons forbade 
me from listening to the proposal for a single moment. 
Our beloved general had intrusted to me a command far 
above my deserts, my age, or experience in war. From 
the time of my first landing in America, up to the cam- 
paign of 1781, 1 had enjoyed the attachment, nay, parent- 
al regards of the matchless chief Could I then dare to 
attempt to pluck a leaf from the laurel that was soon to 
bind his honored broAV — the well-earned reward of long 
years of toils, anxieties, and battles ? And lastly, could 
I have been assured of success in my attack, from the 
known courage and discipline of the foe, that success 
must have been attended by a vast effusion of human 
blood." 

The commander-in-chief, accompanied by the Count 
de Eochambeau, arrived at Williamsburg,* the head- 
quarters of Lafayette, on the fourteenth of September, 
The general, attended by a numerous suite of American 
and French officers, repaired to Hampton,-j- and thence 
on board the Ville de Paris, the French admiral's ship, 
lying at anchor in the chops of the Capes, to pay their 

* The allied armies made their way slowly southward. For want of sufficient 
vessels at the Head of Elk, where they expected to embark for a voyage down 
the Chesapeake, a greater portion of the troops proceeded by land to Baltimore 
and Annapolis. Washington and his suite, accompanied by the Count de Rocham- 
beau, and the Marquis de Chastellux, reached Baltimore on the eighth. Mount 
Vernon on the tenth, and Williamsburg on the evening of the fourteenth. That 
brief visit was the first that Washington had made to Mount Vernon since the spring 
of 1775, when he left for Philadelphia, as a delegate to the continental Congress. 

t Hampton is near Old Point Comfort, at the mouth of the James river, having 
in front one of the finest harbors in tlie world, called Hampton roads, which opens 
to the Chesapeake bay. Washington and his party, consisting of Lafayette, Rocham- 
beau, Knox, Harrison, Hamilton, and others, sailed for the Ville de Paris, in a small 
vessel called the Queen Charlotte, and arrived on board on the eighteenth of Sep- 
tember. They were greeted with a salute of thirteen guns, and welcomed to an 
entertainment prepared in haste, but with great taste. 



236 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

respects to the Count de Grasse, and consult with him as 
to their future operations. 

On the American chiefs reaching the quarter-deck, 
the admiral flew to embrace him, imprinting the French 
salute upon each cheek. Hugging him in his arms, he 
exclaimed, '^ My dear little general?'' De Grasse was of 
lofty stature ; but the term 'petit, or small, when applied 
to the majestic and commanding person of Washington, 
produced an effect upon the risible faculties of all present 
not to be described. The Frenchmen, governed by the 
rigid etiquette of the ancien regime, controlled their mirth, 
as best they could; but our own jolly Knox, heedless 
of all rules, laughed, and that aloud, till his fat sides 
shook again. 

Washington returned from this conference by no 
means satisfied with its result. The admiral was ex- 
tremely restless at anchor while his enemy's fleet kept the 
sea ; and having orders limiting his stay in the American 
waters to a certain and that not distant day, he was de- 
sirous of putting to sea to block up the enemy's fleet in 
the basin of New York, rather than to run the risk of 
being himself blockaded in the bay of the Chesapeake. 

Washington urged De Grasse to remain, because his 
departure, he said, " by affording an opening for the suc- 
cor of York, which the enemy would instantly avail 
themselves of, would frustrate our brilliant prospects; 
and the consequence would be, not only the disgrace 
and loss of renouncing an enterprise, upon which the 
fairest expectations of the allies have been founded, after j 
the most expensive preparations, but perhaps disbanding I 
the whole army for want of provisions." I 

Washington now despatched Lafayette on a secret i 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 237 

mission to the count; and never, in the whole course 
of the Revolutionary contest, were the services of that 
friend of America of more value to her cause than in the 
present instance. 

The all-commanding influence of Lafayette at this 
period, not only with the French court, of which he 
w\as the idol, but with the whole people of France ; his 
powerful family connections with the high noblesse, par- 
ticularly the distinguished family of De Noailles;* all 
these considerations enabled Lafayette to throw himself 
as a shield between the Count de Grasse and any blame 
that might be attached to him at home for yielding to 
the views and wishes of the American chief 

The marquis prevailed, and he soon returned to head' 
quarters with the gratifying intelhgence that the ad- 
miral had consented to remain at his anchors (unless a 
British fleet should appear off the capes), and would 
send a part of his vessels higher up the bay, the better 
to complete the investiture of Yorktown. 

The fate of De Grasse and the Ville de Paris is well 
known to history. That magnificent ship was a present 
from the city of Paris to the French king. She rated 
one hundred and ten guns, and thirteen hundred men. 
It is said that on her arrival in the Chesapeake, 
flowers and tropical plants were interspersed w^on her 
j quarter-deck, amid the engines of war ; while her sides, 
covered with bright varnish, gave to this superb vessel a 
most brilliant and imposing appearance. On the memo- 
rable twelfth of April, 1782, De Grasse, deserted by some 

* Lafayette married the Countesse Anastasie de Noailles, daughter of the Duke 
de Noailles, a young lady possessed of an immense fortune in her own right. The 
Duke de Noailles was a member of one of the oldest and most influential families 
ia Fraace. 



238 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

of his captains, liis own ship totally dismasted, a large 
proportion of his officers and crew killed or wounded, 
nobly maintained the unequal contest, and re-fused to 
yield to any ship carrying less than an admiral's flag * 
At length the Barfleur of ninety-eight guns. Sir Samuel 
Hood, ranging alongside, the. colors of France were 
lowered on the poop of as bravely-defended a vessel as 
hath adorned the annals of the French marine, either' 
before or since. Let those who would put their trust in 
princes, mark the fate of gallant De Grasse. When he 
struck, but three men remained alive on the quarter- 
deck of the Ville de Paris, one of whom was the admiral ; 
yet, on his return to his native country, the king, whose 
colors he had so nobly defended, turned wdth coldness 
from the unfortunate brave, leaving him to languish in 
retirement and disgrace. Hoav different was the con(^uct 
of the enemies of De Grasse, the English sailors, who, on 
the arrival of their prisoner at Portsmouth, hoisted kirn on 
iheir shoulders, and honoring high courage in misfortune, 
carried him in triumph to his lodgings, bidding him adieu, 
with three hearty cheers. It is thus the brave should 
honor the brave. 

On the fifth of September, Admiral Graves, with nine- 
teen sail-of-the-line, appeared off the capes of Virginia.^ 

* The ViUe de Paris had been reduced to almost a wreck by the Canada, coni- 
raanded by Captain Cornwallis, brother of Lord Cornwallis, who seemed deterniineU 
to avenge his kinsman's fate at Yorktown. This severe naval battle, under the gen- 
eral command of Admiral Rodney, occurred in the West Indies. The English were 
victonous. But several of their prizes were lost in hurricanes that ensued. Four of 
the French ships captured on the twelfth of April, namely, the Ville de Paris, Cen- 
taur, Glorieux, and Hector, and an English-built ship-of-the-line, the PMiniUies, all 
foundered at sea while employed in giving convoy to a great fleet of West Indiamen, 

t Admiral Rodney, commander of the British fleet in the West Indies, aware that 
De Grasse had sailed for the American coast, sent Sir Samuel Hood after him with 
only fourteen sail, not suspecting that the French admiral had taken his whole fleet 



I 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. , 239 

Count de Grasse immediately slipped his cables, and put 
to sea with twenty-four line-of-battle ships. An engage- 
ment ensued, without material results to either side, and, 
after four days of manoeuvring, the French fleet returned 
to its former anchorage, the British bearing away for 
New York.* 

Meantime, the Chevalier de Barras had arrived, with 

eight sail-of-the-line, bringing a battering-train, and an 

ample supply of all the munitions necessary for the siege, 

These were speedily landed up the James river, and 

many delays and disappointments occurred in their 

transportation to the lines before Yorktown, a distance 

of six miles. Long trains of the small oxen of the coun- 

j try tugged at a single gun, and it was not until the ar- 

j rival of the better teams of the grand army that much 

j progress could be made."]" 

' The combined armies, arriving at the Head of Elk,f 
'i embarked a portion of the troops in transports ; another 
*l ■'■■ 

1 to the shores of the neighboring continent. Hood arrived at Sandy Hook at the 
i clo^e of August, and gave Admiral Graves, then lying in the harbor of New York, 
ri with live sliips-of-the-line prepared for service, notice of the destination of De Grasse's 
ifleet. On the same day information reached Sir Heni'y Clinton, that Admiral de 
Barras had sailed from Newport for the Chesapeake, with a considerable squadron. 
Graves, with nineteen sail, departed for the same waters, as speedily as possible. 

* This naval engagement took place outside the CMpes of Virginia, upon the bosom 
of the broad Atlantic. The engagement was partial. The hostile fleets were within 
sight of each other for five successive days. The French lost in the action two hun- 
dred and twenty men, and four officers, killed and wounded. The loss of the Eng- 
li.-h was ninety killed and two hundred a!id forty-six wounded. 

t Within the state-arsenal, at Richmond, Virginia, there are several French can- 
non, long, and highly wrought, and some of them a hundred years old ; also two or 
three howitzers. How they came there no one can tell. Old people remember to 
have seen them on the grounds of the capitol fifty years ago, but knew not how they 
I came there. They were probably left by the French at the siege of Yorktown, and 
(afterward taken up the river to Richmond. 

j t '-I'he narrow part of the Chesapeake bay, at it head, is called Elk river, and where 
|Elkton now stands, was known, at that time, as Head of Elk. 



J 



240 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

portion were embarked at Baltimore; while the re- 
mainder pursued the. route by land to Virginia — the 
whole rendezvousing at Williamsburg,* 

On the twenty-eighth of September the alhes moved 
in four columns, in order of battle, and, the outposts of 
the enemy Ijcing driven in, the first parallel was com- 
menced. The work continued with such diligence tha 
the batteries opened on the night of the ninth of October,' 
and a tremendous fire of shot and shells continued with- 
out interruption. A red-hot shot from the French, whdi 
were on the left, fell upon the Gaiidahupe and Charon, 
two British frigates. The latter, of forty-four guns, waa; 
consumed together with three transports.-}* 

The defences of the town were hourly sinking under 
the effects of the cannonade from the American and 
French batteries, when, on the night of the fourteenth, it 
w^as determined to carry the two British redoubts on the 
south, by the bayonet. For this service, detachments 
were detailed from both the American and French 
armies — the former under the command of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Hamilton, long the favorite aid of the commander- 

* When Washington arrived at Williamsburg, and found both the French fleets 
in Chesapeake bay, he sent ten transports of De Barras'a squadron to bring on the 
allied forces from Maryland. The last division of the allied troops reached Williams- 
burg on the twenty-fifth of September. 

t The first heavy cannonade and bombardment by the allied forces occurred on 
tlie tenth of October. On that evening the vessels mentioned in the text, were set 
on fire. Three large transports were consumed at the same time. Doctor Thachcr 
in his journal, page 274, says, " From the bank of the river I had a fine view of this 
splendid conflagration. The ships were enwrapped in a torrent of fire, which, spread- 
ing with vivid brightness among the combustible rigging, and running with amazing 
rapidity to the tops of the several masts, while all around was thunder and lightning 
from our numerous cannons and mortars, and in the darkness of night, presented 
one of the most sublime and magnificent spectacles which can be imagined. Some 
of our shells over-reaching the town, were seen to fall into the river, and bursting, 
threw up columns of water like the spouting of the monsters of the deep." 



SURRENIER AT YORKTOWN. 241 

in-cliJef, but now restored to his rank and duty in the 
hue/-' and the latter under the Baron de Yiomenil. 

At a given signal the detachments advanced to the 
assault. As the Americans were mounting the redoubt, 
LieutenantrColonel Laurens,f aid-de-camp to the com- 
mander-in-chief, appeared suddenly on their flank, at the 
head of two companies. Upon Major FishJ hailing him 
with, " Why, Laurens, what brought you here ?" the hero 
replied, "I had nothing to do at headquarters, and so 
came here to see what you all were about." Bravest 
among the brave, this Bayard of his age and country 
rushed with the foremost into the works, making with 
his own hand, Major Campbell, the British commandant, 
a prisoner-of-war.§ The cry of the Americans as they 
mounted to the assault was, "Remember New London.'* 
But here, as at Stony Point, notwithstanding the provo- 
cation to retaliate was justified by the inhuman massa- 

* In the preceding February a misunderstanding occurred between Washington 
and Hamilton. The latter, feeling aggrieved at some words of censure spoken by 
bis general, promptly proposed a separation. " Very well, sir," said Washington, 
" if it be your choice." But within an hour he sent an aid to offer Hamilton the 
olive-branch of reconciliation. But the young officer, who, for some time, had been 
anxious to hold a more independent and distinguished part in the army, would 
not listen to the generous overture, and from that time he was separated from the 
general's military family, but not from his friendship. 

t John Laurens, son of Henry Laurens, who was president of the continental 
Congress in 1777. He was one of the most gallant young men in the army. He 
was sent on a special mission to France early in 1 782, to solicit a loan of money and 
to procure arms. He was successful, and received the thanks of Congress. He did 
good service in the South under General Greene, and was killed on the bank of the 
Combahee, while opposing marauding parties of the British, on the twenty-seventh 
of August, 1782, at the age of twenty-nine yeai-s. 

t Major Nicholas Fish, of the New York line, and father of Honorable Hamilton 
Fish, late governor of the state of New York. 

^ Major Campbell, several inferior officers, and seventeen privates, were made 
prisoners. This redoubt was on the bank of the York river. The mounds were 
quite prominent when I visited the spot in the winter of 1848-9. 

16 



242 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHEN'GTON. 

cres of Paoli and Fort Griswokl, mercy, divine mercy, 
perched triumphant on our country's colors/^ 

Washington, during the whole of the siege, continued 
to expose himself to every danger. It was in vain his 
officers remonstrated. It was in vain that Colonel Cobb, 
his aid-de-camp, entreated him to come down from a J I 
parapet, whence he was reconnoitring the enemy's works, 
the shot and shells flying thickly around, and an officer 
of the New England line killed within a very few yards. 
During one of his visits to the main battery, a soldier of ^ 
Colonel Lamb's artilleryf had his leg shattered by the 

* We have already observed that Arnold was sent to ravage the New England 
coasts, in order to draw the combined armies back from their march toward Virginia. 
On the morning of the sixth of September, 1781, Arnold, with a considerable force, 
consisting mostly of tories and Hessians, landed upon the shores of the Thames, be- 
. low New London. They landed in two divisions, the one on the New London side 
being commanded by Arnold in person. He proceeded to lay New London in ashes, 
■while, Nero-like, he stood in the belfry of a church and watched the conflagration ; 
and from that elevated point he could almost see his own birthplace, at Norwich, at 
the head of the river. The other division, under one of Arnold's subordinates, at- 
tacked Fort Griswold, at Groton, on the opposite shore, and murdered Colonel Led- 
yard and most of the garrison under him, in cold blood. It was to these atrocities 
that the war-cry alluded to referred. Gordon asserts, that Lafayette, with the sanc- 
tion of Washington, ordered the assailants to remember Fort Griswold, and put every 
man of the redoubt to death. This order, so repugnant to the character of both 
Washington and Lafayette, could never have been issued. Colonel Hamilton after- 
ward publicly denied the truth of the allegation ; so also did Lafayette. 

t Colonel John Lamb was one of the most meritorious of the officers of the artil- 
lery department. He was then fifty years of age, and had been one of the earliest 
of the opposers of the British government in New York, who bore the name of Lib- 
erty Boys. He was a good writer and fluent speaker, both of which accomplishments 
he brought into useful requisition when the troubles with Great Britain began. In all 
the commotions in his native city (New York), previous to the breaking out of the 
Revolution, he was very active ; and in 1775, he received a captain's commission in 
a New York artillery corps. He accompanied Montgomery to Quebec, where, in 
the siege of that city, at the close of 1775, he was severely wounded and made 
prisoner. He returned to New York the ensuing summer, was promoted to major, 
and became attached to the artillery regiment under Knox. From that time until 
the close of the war he was in active service, when the army was in the field. He 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 243 

explosion of a shell. As they were bearing him to the 
rear, he recognised the chief, and cried out, " God bless 
your excellency, save me if you can, for I have been a 
good soldier, and served under you during the whole 
war." Sensibly affected by the brave fellow's appeal, 
the general immediately ordered him to the particular 
care of Doctor Craik. It Avas too late ; death ter- 
minated his sufferings after an amputation was per- 
formed. 

At this period of the siege occurred that sublime in- 
stance of patriotism which we have recorded in another 
chapter, when Governor Nelson directed the heavy shot 
and bomb-shells of the Americans to be cast upon his 
own fine house, in order to dislodge British officers who 
had their quarters there. 

And yet how many and how endearing recollections 
must have crowded upon the patriot's mind as he thus 
consio'ned his ancient domicil to destruction. Erected 
by his forefathers, it was around its hearths that, in his 
childhood, he had played.^'^ Beneath its roof he had 
reared a numerous and interesting family, and passed his 
better days in dispensing the most liberal hospitality to 
a large and estimable circle of relatives and friends ; all, 
all were forgotten as, with Roman heroism, he bade the 
batteries direct their thunders against the seat of his 
happiness and his home. 

afterward became a legislator in his native State ; and Washington, when he became 
president of the United States, appointed him collector of customs at the port of 
New York. He held that office until his death, on the thirty-first of May, 1800. 

* In an old burial-ground at Y''orktown, are the remains of several of the Nelson 
family, covered by fine marble monuments, one of them quite costly. And the 
Rtouc house, battered by the cannon balls during the siege, is yet standing. See 
, biographical sketch of Governor Nelson in another chapter. 



244 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



f 



w 



The first headquarters of Earl Cornwallis were in the 
house of Mr. Secretary Nelson, a relative of the gover- 
nor, and a gentleman attached to the royal cause. It 
was a very large and splendid brick nivansion, and tower- 
ing above the ramparts, afforded a fine mark for the I 
American artillery, that soon riddled it, having learned 
from a deserter that it contained the British headquar- 
ters. His lordship remained in the house until his stew 
ard was killed by a cannon-ball while carrying a tureen 
of soup to his master's table. ' 

The British general then removed his headquarters 
to the house of Governor Nelson, and finally to apart- 
ments excavated in the bank on the southern extremity 
of the town, wdiere two rooms were wainscotted with 
boards, and lined with baize, for his accommodation.* 
It was in that cavernous abode that the earl received his 
last letter from Sir Henry Clinton. It was brought by 
the honorable Colonel Cochran, who, landing from an 
English cutter on Cape Charles, procured an open boat, 
and threading his way, under cover of a fog, through the 
French fleet, arrived safely, and delivered his despatches. 
They contained orders for the earl to hold out to the last 
extremity, assuring him that a force of seven thousand 
men would be immediately embarked for his relief.f 

* No traces of this retreat can now be found. It was excavated in the bank of 
rock-marl upon which the village of Yorktown stands, but has disappeared long ago. 
Full a quarter of a mile above the spot, there is an excavation in the same bank, to 
•which strangers were directed, when I visited Yorktown a few years ago, as the veri- 
table council-chamber of Cornwallis ; but I was informed, by good authority, that 
the cave I visited was made, at or before the siege, to hide valuables in. I saw 
the remains of a house that had stood directly in front of it, and which must have 
concealed the entrance to the cavern. 

t From the first, Cornwallis appears to have doubted his ability to maintain his 
position long. When he first saw perils gathering thick around him, the French fleet 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 245 

While taking wine with his lordship after dinner, the 
gallant colonel proposed that he should go up to the 
ramparts and take a look at the Yankees, and upon his 
return give Washington's health in a bumper. He was 
dissuaded from so rash a proceeding by every one at the 
table, the whole of the works being at that time in so 
ruinous a state that shelter could be had nowhere. The 
colonel however persisted, and gayly observing that he 
would leave his glass as his representative till his return, 
which would be quickly, away he went. Poor fellow, he 
did return, and that quickly, but he was borne in the 
arms of the soldiers, not to his glass, but his grave. 

For a great distance around Yorktown the earth trem- 
bled under the cannonade, while many an anxious and 
midnight watcher ascended to the housetops to listen to 
the sound, and to look upon the horizon, lighted up by 
the blaze of the batteries, the explosions of the shells, 
and the flames from the burning vessels in the harbor. 

At length, on the morning of the seventeenth, the 
thundering ceased, hour after hour passed away, and the 
most attentive ear could not catch another sound. What 
had happened? Can Cornwallis have escaped? To 
suppose he had fallen, was almost too much to hope for. 
And now an intense anxiety prevails : every eye is 

approaching on one hnnd, and the allied armies on the other, he conceived a plan of 
escaping into North Carolina ; but the vigilant Lafoyette prevented his flight. He 
at once sent a message to Clinton for aid, and received the reply alluded to in the 
text. He used every endeavor to delay, first his offer to capitulate, and then the 
signing of the capitulation, hoping for aid. Washington, suspecting the reason, 
would suffer no delay, and on the very day when the capitulation was signed, Clin- 
ton, with seven thousand men, left New York for the Chesapeake, convoyed by 
twenty-six ships of the line, under Admiral Digby. This armament appeared off 
the capes of Virginia, on the twenty-fourth of October ; but receiving unquestion- 
able intelligence of the capitulation at Yorktown, Clinton returned to New York. 



246 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

turned toward the great southern road, and " the express ! 
the express !" is upon every lip. Each hainlet and home- 
stead pours forth its inmates. Age is seen leaning on 
his staff; women with infants at the breast; children with 
wondering eyes, and tiny hands outstretched — all, all, 
with breathless hopes and fears, await the courier's com- 
ing. Ay, and the courier rode with a red spur that day ; 
but had he been mounted on the wings of the wind, he i 
could scarcely have kept pace with the gdneral anxiety, j 

At length there is a cry — " He comes ! he comes !" and * 
merging from a cloud of dust, a horseman is seen at 
headlong speed. He plies the lash and spur; covered 
with foam, with throbbing flank, and nostril dilated to 
catch the breeze, the generous horse devours the road, 
while ever and anon the rider waves his cap, and shouts 
to the eager groups that crowd his way, " Cornwallis is 
taken!"* 

And now arose a joyous cry that made the very wel- 
kin tremble. The tories, amazed and confounded, shrunk 
away to their holes and hiding-places, while the patriotic 
whigs rushed into each other's arms, and wept for glad- 
ness. And oh ! on that day of general thanksgiving and 

* Tlie accomplished Lieutenant-Colonel Tiighinan, one of Washington's aids, 
was sent to Philadelphia by the chief, with despatches to the Congress, announcing 
the surren'ler of Cornwallis. He arrived there in the night, and soon the watchmen 
of the city were calling the hours, with the suflBx, "and Cornwallis is taken!" That 
annunciation ringing out on the frosty night-air, aroused thousands from their slum- 
bers. Lights were soon seen moving in almost every house ; and presently tlie streets 
■were thronged with men and women, all eager to hear the details. It was a joyous 
night for Philadelpliia. The old state-house bell rang out its jubilant notes more 
than an hour before dawn, and the first blush of morning was greeted with the boom- 
ing of cannon. The Congress assembled at an early hour, when Charles Thomson 
read Washington's despatch, and then they resolved to go in procession at two 
o'clock the same day, to a temple of worship, " and return thanks to Almighty God 
for crowning the allied armies of the United States and France with success '" 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 247 

praise, liow many an aspiration ascended to the Most 
Higli, imploring blessings on him whom all time'will con- 
secrate as the Father of his CorNTRY, That event was 
indeed the crowning glory of the war of the Revolution ; 
hostilities languished thereafter, while Independence and 
empire dawned upon the destinies of America, from the 
surrender at York town. 

After a fruitless attempt to escape, in which the ele- 
ments, as at Long Island, were on the side of America 
and her cause,* on the morning of the seventeenth Corn- 
wallis beat a parley. Terms were arranged, and, on the 
nineteenth, the British army laid down its arms.f 

The imposing ceremony took place at two o'clock. 
The American troops were drawn up on the right, and 
the French on the left, of the high road leading to. 
Hampton. A vast crowd of persons from the adjoining 
country attended to witness the ceremony.J 

The captive army, in perfect order, marched in stern 

* This has reference to the fog on the East river that allowed the Americans to 
retreat from Brooklyn, unperceived by the enemy, after the disastrous battle near 
there on the twenty-ninth of August, 1776. On the present occasion, a storm sud- 
denly arose, and prevented Cornwallis and his troops from crossing the York river 
to Gloucester, in boats which had been prepared for the purpose. His plan was to 
witlidraw in that way from Yorklown, in the night, by rapid marches gain the 
forks of the Rappahannock ajid Potomac, and forcing his way through Maryland, 
Pennsylvania, and New Jersey, form a junction with the British army under Clinton, 
la New York. 

t The siege had continued thirteen days. The British lost during the siege one 
hundred and fifty-six killed, three hundred and twenty-six wounded, and seventy 
missing. The whole number surrendered by capitulation was a little more than 
seven thousand. Besides these, there were sailors, negroes, and tories, who became 
prisoners, making the whole number between eleven and twelve thousand. 

i It has been estimated that the number of spectators of the ceremony of snr 
render, was quite equal to that of the military. Universal silence prevailed as the 
vanquished troops slowly marched out of their intrenchments, with their colors 
cased and their drums beating a British tune, and passed between the columns of, 
the combined armies. 



1 



248 RECOLLECIIOXS OF WASHINGTON. 



and solemn silence between the lines. All eyes were 
turned toward the head of the advancing column. Com- 
wallis, the renowned, the dreaded Cornwallis, was the 
object that thousands longed to behold. He did not 
appear, but sent his sword by General O'Hara, with an 
apology for his non-appearance on account of indispo- 
sition. It was remarked that the British soldiers looked 
only toward the French army on the left, whose appear- 
ance was assuredly more brilliant than that of the Amer- 
icans, though the latter were respectable in both their* I 
clothing and appointments, while their admirable dis- 
cipline and the hardy and veteran appearance of both 
officers and men showed they were no " carpet knights," 
but soldiers who had seen service and w^ere inured to 
war. 

Lafayette, at the head of his division, observing that 
the captives confined their admiration exclusively to the 
French army, neglecting his darling lightrinfantry, the 
very apple of his eye and pride of his heart, determined 
to bring " eyes to the right." He ordered his music to 
strike up Yankee Doodle : "Then," said the good general, 
" they did look at us, my dear sir, but were not very well 
pleased." 

When ordered to ground arms, the Hessian was con- 
tent. He was tired of the war ; his pipe and his patience 
pretty well exhausted, he longed to bid adieu to toilsome 
marches, battles, and the heat of the climate that con- 
sumed him. Not so the British soldier; many threw 
their arms to the ground in sullen despair. One fine 
veteran fellow displayed a soldierly feeling that excited 
the admiration of all around. He huo:«:ed his musket to 
his osom, gazed tenderly on it, pressed it to his lips, 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOAVN. 249 

then threw it from him, and marched away dissolved in 
tears.* 

On the day of the surrender, the commander-in-chief 
rode his favorite and splendid charger, named Nelson, a 
light sorrel, sixteen hands high, with white face and legs, 
and remarkable as being the first nicked horse seen in 
America. This famous charger died at Mount Vernon 
many years after the Eevolution, at a very advanced 
age. After the chief had ceased to mount him, he was 
never ridden, but grazed in a paddock in summer, and 
was well cared for in winter ; and as often as the retired 
farmer of Mount Vernon would be making a tour of his 
grounds, he would halt at the paddock, when the old 
war-horse would run, neighing, to the fence, proud to be 
caressed by the great master's hands. 

The day after the surrender. Earl Cornwallis repaired 
to headquarters to pay his respects to General Washing- 
ton and await his orders. The captive chief was received 
with all the courtesy due to a gallant and unfortunate 
foe. The elegant manners, together with the manly, 
frank, and soldierly bearing of Cornwallis, soon made 
him a prime favorite at headquarters, and he often 
formed part of the suite of the commander-in-chief in his 
rides to inspect the levelling of the works previous to 

* The delivering of the colors was one of the most painful events of the surrender, 
to the captives. There were twenty-eight of them. For this purpose, twenty-eight 
British captains, each bearing a flag in a case, were drawn up in line. Opposite 

1 to them, at a distance of six paces, twenty-eight American sergeants were placed to 
receive the colors, and an ensign was appointed by Colonel Hamilton, the ofHcer of 
the day, to conduct the ceremony. When the ensign gave an order for the captains 
to advance two paces, and the American sergeants to advance two paces, the former 

i hesitated, saying they were unwilling to surrender their flags to non-commissioned 

' officers. Hamilton, sitting upon his horse at a distance, observed this hesitation. 

j He rode up, and when informed of the difficulty, ordered the ensign to receive 

! them all and hand them over to the sergeants. 



250 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHLVGTON. 

the retirement of the combined armies from before York- 
town.* 

At the grand dinner given at the headquarters to the 
officers of the three armies, Washington filled his glass, 
and, after his invariable toast, whether in peace or war, 
of " All our friends" gave " The British Army," with some 
complimentary remarks upon its chief, his proud career 
in arms, and his gallant defence of Yorktown. When it 
came to Cornwallis's turn, he prefaced his toast by saying 
that the war M^as virtually at an end, and the contending 
parties would soon embrace as friends ; there might be 
affairs of posts, but nothing on a more enlarged scale, as 
it was scarcely to be expected that the ministry would 
send another army to America.^ Then turning to Wash- 

* Yorktown was evacuated by conquerors and captives, within a fortnight after the 
surrender. Some of tlie prisoners were marched to Winchester, in Virginia, and 
some to Fort Fredericjt and Fredericktown, in Maryland. The latter were finally 
removed to Lancaster, in Pennsylvania, and guarded by continental troops. Corn- 
wallis and other British officers went by sea to New York, on parole. Finally, they 
were all exchanged. 

t The fall of Cornwallis was a severe blow to the British ministry. Sir N. W. 
Wraxall, in his Historical Memoirs of his Own Times (page 246), has left an interest- 
ing record of the effect of the hews of the surrender of Cornwallis upon the minds of 
Lord North and the king. The intelligence reached the cabinet on Sunday, the 
twenty-fifth of November, at noon. Wraxall asked Lord George Germain how 
North " took the communication V — " As he would have taken a cannon-ball in his 
breast," replied Lord George, "for he opened his arms, exclaiming wildly, as he 
paced up and down the apartment during a few minutes, ' Oh ! God, it is all over !' 
words which he repeated many times, under emotions of the deepest consternation 
imd distress." Lord George Germain sent off a despatch to the king, who was then 
at Kew. The king wrote a calm letter in reply, but it was remarked, as evidence of 
unusual emotion, that he had omitted to mark the hour and minute of his writing, 
•which he was always accustomed to do with scrupulous precision. Yet the handwrit- 
ing evinced composure of mind. 

Parliament assembled on the twenty-seventh of November, and its first business 
was the consideration of events in America. Violent debates ensued, in which Ed- 
mund Burke, Ciiarles James Fox, General Conway, and the younger Pitt, engaged 
on the side of the opposition. Parliament adjourned until after the holydays, with- 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 251 

ington, his lordship continued : " And when the illustri- 
ous part that your excellency has borne in this long and 
arduous contest becomes matter of history, fame will 
gather your brightest laurels rather from the banks of 
the DelaAvare than from those of the Chesapeake." lu 
this his lordship alluded to the memorable midnight 
march made by Washington with the shattered remains 
of the grand army, aided by the Pennsylvania militia, 
on the night of the second of January, 1777, which 
resulted in the surprise of the enemy in his rear, and the 
victory of Princeton, restoring hope to the American 
cause when it was almost sinking in despair. 

Colonel Tarleton, alone of all the British officers of 

rank, was left out in the invitations to headquarters. 

I Gallant and high-spirited, the colonel applied to the" 

' Marquis de Lafayette to know whether the neglect 

.. might not have been accidental? Lafayette well knew 

that accident had nothing; to do with the matter, but re- 

( ferred the applicant to Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens, who, 

\ as aid-de-camp to the commander-in-chief, must of course 

Jbe able to give the requisite explanation. Laurens at 

I once said, " No, Colonel Tarleton, no accident at all ; in- 

tentional, I can assure you, and meant as a reproof for 

lout taking any definite action in the matter. On reassembling, the subject was 
I again brought up, when General Conway offered a resolution preliminary to the 
I enactment of a decree for commanding the cessation of all hostilities. It was lost 

by only one vote. The opposition ^v^■re encouraged, and again pressed the matter, 
land finally,on the fourth of March, 1782, a resolution was offered by Conway, " That 
'the house of commons and the nation would consider as enemies to his majesty 

and the country, all those who should advise, or by any means attempt, the further 
'prosecution of offensive war on the continent of North America." The ministry 

were signally defeated in the vote on this resolution, and Lord North, after an 

administration as prime minister, of twelve years, resigned the seals of ofBce ; and 
|8oon a decree to cease hostilities, was furnished to the British commanders in 
ijAmerica. 



25l kecollectio^ss of Washington. 

certain cruelties practised by the troops under your com- 
mand in the campaigns of the CaroHnas." — "What, sir," 
haughtily rejoined Tarleton, " and is it for severities in- 
separable from war, which you are pleased to term 
cruelties, that I am to be disgraced before junior officers ? 
Is it, sir, for a faithful discharge of my duty to my king 
and my country, that I am thus humiliated in the eyes 
of three armies?" — "Pardon me," continued Colonel 
Laurens, "there are modes, sir, of discharging a soldier's 
duty, and where mercy has a share in the mode, it ren- 
ders the duty the more acceptable to both friends and 
foes." Tarleton stalked gloomily away to his quarters, 
which he seldom left until his departure from Virginia.* 

* Banastre Tarleton was born in Liverpool, England, in 1 754. He had commenced 
the study of law when the American war broke out. He then joined the army and 
came over with Cornwallis. He was with that officer in all his campaigns in 
this country, was an active leader of cav;ilry at the South, and ended his military 
career at Yorktown. He seemed innately cruel while in this country. On his return 
to England, the inhabitants of Liverpool elected him their representative in the house 
of commons. He married the daughter of the duke of Ancaster in 1798, and in 1817 
became a majoi'-general in the British army. When George IV. was crowned, he 
was created a baronet. He died in 1833. 

In a personal rencounter with Colonel William Washington, at the battle of the 
Cowpens, Colonel Tarleton was severely wounded in the hand. According to Mrs. 
EUet's "Women of the Revolution," this wound was twice made the point of severe 
wit by two American ladies, who were daughters of Colonel Montfort, of Halifax, 
North Carolina. Because of his cruel and resentful disposition, he was most heartily 
despised by the republicans. The occasions were as follows : When Cornwallis and 
his army were at Halifax, on their way to Virginia, Tarleton was at the house of an 
American. In the presence of Mrs. Willie Jones ("one of these sisters), Tarleton 
spoke of Colonel Washington as an illiterate fellow, hardly able to write his name. 
'Ah, colonel," said Mrs. Jones, "you ought to know better, for you bear on your 

erson proof that he knows very well how to make his mark!" At another time, 
Tarleton was speaking sarcastically of Waahington, in the presence of her sister, 
Mrs. Ashe. " I would be happy to see Colonel Washington," he said, with a sneer. 
Mrs. Ashe instantly replied, " If you had looked behind you. Colonel Tarleton, at 
the battle of the Cowpens, you would have enjoyed that pleasure." Stung with this 
keen wit, Tarleton placed his hand on his sword. General Leslie, who was present, 
remarked, " Say what you please, Mrs. Ashe, Colonel Tarleton knows better than to 
insult a lady in my presence." 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 253 

Upon tlie surrender of the post of Gloucester, Colonel 
Tarleton, knowing himself to be particularly obnoxious 
to the Americans from his conduct in the South, requested 
a guard for his person. This was afterward dispensed 
with, but he was destined to be sadly humiliated upon 
his arrival in Yorktown, being dismounted in the street 
from a beautiful blood-horse that was claimed by a Vir- 
ginian gentleman as his property. The colonel was on 
his way to dine with the Baron de Viomenil, and but for 
a French officer who was passing, dismounting an orderly, 
and giving his steed to the unfortunate colonel, this cele- 
brated cavalier, badly calculated for a pedestrian, from a 
defect in one of his feet, must have trudged it to the 
baron's quarters, a distance of more than a mile. 

The weather during the siege of Yorktown was propi- 
tious in the extreme, being, with the exception of the 
squall on the night of the sixteenth/^ the fine autumnal 
weather of the South, commonly called the Indian sum- 
mer, which greatly facilitated the military operations. 
Washington's headquarters were under canvass the whole 
time.f 

The situation of Yorktown, after the surrender, was 
pestilential. Numbers of wretched negroes who had 
either been taken from the plantations, or had of them- 
selves followed the fortunes of the British army, had died 
of the small-pox, which, Avith the camp-fever, was raging 
in the place, and remained unburied in the streets. 

* The night when Cornwallis attempted to escape. 

t The place where the commissioners met to agree upon terms of capitulation 
was Moore's house, near the banks of the York river. It has sometimes been er- 
roneously called Washington's headquarters. That building is yet standing, in the 
midst of a beautiful lawn and a pleasant surrounding country. I visited it on the 
twenty-first of December, 1848, when so mild was the weather, hat, by permission of 
the occupant, I plucked a full-blown rose that was blooming near a verandah. 



254 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

When all hope of escape was given up, the horses of the 
British legion Avere led to the margin of the river, shot, 
and then thrown into the stream. The carcasses, floating 
with the tide, lodged on the adjacent shores and flats, 
producing an effluvium that affected the atmosphere for 
miles around. Indeed, it was many months before York- 
town and its environs became sufficiently purified to be 
habitable with any degree of comfort. 

A domestic affliction threw a shade over Washington's 
happiness, while his camp still rang with shouts of tri- 
umph for the surrender of Yorktown. His step-son* (to 
whom he had been a parent and protector, and to whom 
he was fondly attached), who had acccompanied him to 
the camp at Cambridge, and was among the first of his 
aids in the dawn of the Revolution, sickened while on 
duty as extra aid to the commander-in-chief in the 
trenches before Yorktown. Aware that his disease (the 
camp-fever), would be mortal, the sufferer had yet one 
last lingering wish to be gratified, and he vv^ould die con- 
tent. It w^as to behold the surrender of the sword of 
Cornwallis. He was supported to the ground, and wit- 
nessed the admired spectacle, and was then removed to 
Eltham, a distance of thirty miles from camp.f 

An express from Dr. Craik announced that there was 
no longer hope, when Washington, attended by a single 
officer, and a groom, left the headquarters at midnight, 
and rode with all speed for Eltham. 

The anxious watchers by the couch of the dying were, 
in the gray of the twilight, aroused by a trampling of 

* John Parke Custis, the only son of Mrs. Washington, and father of the author 
of these Recollections. 

t The residence of Colonel Basset, who married Mrs. Washington's sister. 



SURRENDER AT YORKTOWN. 255 

horse, and, looking out, discovered the commander-in- 
chief ahghting from a jaded charger in the courtyard. 
He immediately summoned Doctor Craik, and to the 
eager inquiry, " Is there any hope ?" Craik mournfully 
shook his head. The general retired to a room to in- 
dulge his grief, requesting to be left alone. In a little 
"vliile the poor sufferer expired. "Washington, tenderly 
embracing the bereaved wife and mother, observed to 
the weeping group around the remains of him he so 
dearly loved, " From this moment I adopt his two 
youngest children as my own."* Absorbed in grief, he 
then waived with his hand a melancholy adieu, and, fresh 
horses being ready, without rest or refreshment, he re- 
mounted and returned to the camp. 

* These were Eleanor Parke Custis, who married Lawrence Lewis, the fii\"orite 
nephew of General Washington, and George Washington Parlie Custis — the hitter, 
the author of these Recollections. 

Note. — After the foregoing chapter was in type, I found in the Philadelphia 
Sunday Despatch, in one of a series of articles on the History of Chestnut street, from 
the pen of one of the editors, the following extract from an old paper, entitled 
the Allied Mercury or Independent Intelligencer, of the date of fifth Novemhcr, 1781 
which relates to the British banners surrendered at Yorktown, mentioned in a note 
on page 249 of these Recollections : — 

"On Saturday last (Novembers, 1781), between three and four o'clock in the 
aTternoon, arrived here twenty-four standards of colors taken with the British army 
under the command of Earl Cornwallis. The volunteer cavalry of this city received 
these trophies of victory at Schuylkill, from whence they escorted and ushered them 
into town amidst the acclamations of a numerous concourse of people. Continental 
and French colors, at a distance, preceded the British, and thus they were paraded 
down Market street to the state-house. They were then carried into Congress and 
laid at their feet. 

The crowd exulting fills with shouts the sky, 
The walls, the woods, and long canals reply : 
Base Britons ! Tyrant Britons — knock under. 
Taken 's your earl, soldiers and plunder. 
Huzza ! what colors of the bloody foe, 
Twenty-four in number, at the State-House door; 
Look : they are British standards, how they fall 
At the president's feet, Congress and all." 



156 BECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER VII. 



WASHINGTON S LIFE-GUARD. 

NrrMBEE AND Uniform op the Guard — Their Appearance and Discipline — The Faith- 
less GiTAEDSMAN — GlTAED BORROWED FOR IMPORTANT EXPEDITIONS — ThK AFFAIR AT 

Barren Hill — Lafayette in Peril — Allen M'Lane — Escape of tub Republicans — ' 
Passage of the Schuylkill — The Lipe-Gitard at Monmouth — Morgan's Merriment— | 
Last Survivor of the Guard. 

The Life-Guard was a select corps, composed of a major'sj 
command, or about one hundred and fifty men* Caleb 

* Among the Connecticut troops who were engaged in the battle of Bunker's 
Hill, was a company under Captain Thomas Knowlton, who was mortally wounded 
in a skirmish on Harlem plains, on the sixteenth of September, 1776. His was one 
of the best-disciplined companies in the crude army that gathered so suddenly near 
Boston, after the bloodshed at Lexington and Concord became known. This com- 
pany and others were formed into a battalion known as the Connecticut rangers, to 
the command of which Knowlton was appointed, with the rank of Lieutenant- 
Colonel. It formed a part of the central division of the army at Cambridge, after I 
Washington had taken the chief command, and was under his immediate control. * 
The corps soon held the same enviable position, as to discipline and soldierly deport- 
ment, as Captain Knowlton's company had done ; and the commander, proud of liis 
battalion, made it a sort of voluntary body-guard to the general-in-chief, and called 
it Congress's own " 

Tliis appellation produced some jealousy in the army, which Washington per- 
ceived ; and, on the eleventh of March. 1776 (a few days before the termination of 
the siege of Boston), he ordered a corps to be formed, of reliable men, as guard for 
himself, baggage, &c. He directed them to be chosen from various regiments, spe- 
cifying their height to be " from five feet nine inches, to five feet ten inches, and to 
be handsomely and well made." It consisted of a major's command — one hundred 
and eighty men. Caleb Gibbs, of Rhode Island, was its first chief, and bore tlie 
title of captain-commandant, having three lieutenants. When this corps was 
formed, that of Knowlton was no longer regarded with jealousy, as a special favor- 
ite, althougli it continued to be so in the estimation of Washington. 

The Lifc-Guard appear to have been quite popular. Captain Harding, of Fair- 



Washington's life-guard. 257 

Gibbs was the first captain-commandant, and was ably 
seconded by brave and gallant young officers. Their 
miiform consisted of a blue coat, with white facings; 
white waistcoat and breeches; black stock and black 
half-ffaiters, and a round hat with blue and white feather.* 

field, Connecticut, writing to Governor Trumbull, on the twentieth of May, 1776, 
said: "lam now about fitting out another small sloop [privateersman], that was 
taken from a tory, that I have called the Life-Guard, to be commanded by Mr. 
Smedley, to cruise to the eastward," &c., &c. On the sixteenth of the same month, 
Washington, then in New York, issued the following order : " Any orders delivered 
by Caleb Gibbs and George Lewis, Esqrs., [officers of the general's Guard], are to 
be attended to in the same manner as if sent by an aid-de-camp." 

We find no further mention of the Guard until in June following, when members 
of it were suspected of being engaged in an alleged conspiracy to assassinate Wash- 
ington and his staiF. This conspiracy was concocted by Governor Tryon, then a 
refugee on board of a British man-of-war in the harbor of New York, and the tories 
in the city and vicinity, at the head of whom was Matthews the mayor. They were 
made bold by the expected speedy arrival of a strong British land and naval force. 
It was arranged, that on the arrival of these forces, the tories were to rise, full-armed, 
to co-operate with them; that Kingsbridge, at the upper end of York island should 
be destroyed, so as to cut of all communication with the main land ; that the maga- 
zines should be fired, and Washington and his staff be murdered, or seized and 
given up to the enemy. The plan was hinted at by the voice of rumor, and sus- 
picion of complicity rested upon one or two of the Life-Guard. One, named Hickey, 
was proved to have made arrangements to have poison placed in some green peas of 
which Washington was about to partake. He was hanged on the twenty-eighth of 
June, 1776. It is a singular fact, that the victim of this, the first military execution 
in the continental army, was a member of the body-guard of the commander-in- 
chief, who were chosen for their trustworthiness. 

* This description exactly corresponds uith the device on a flag that belonged to 
the cavalry of the Guard, which is preserved in the museum at Alexandria, and of 
which I have a drawing. The flag is made of white silk, on which the device is 
, neatly painted. One of the Guard is seen holding a horse, and is in the act of 
j receiving a flag from the genius of liberty, who is personified as a woman leaning 
I upon the Union shield, near which is the American eagle. The motto of the corps, 
\ " CoNQUEK OK Die," is upon a ribbon. Care was always taken to have each 
state, from which the continental army was supplied with troops, represented by 
members of this corps. It was the duty of the infantry portion to guard the head- 
quarters, and to insure the safe-keeping of the papers and eff"ects of the commander- 
» in-chief, as well as the safety of his person. The mounted portion accompanied tlio 
general in his marches and in reconnoitering, or other like movements. They were 
, employed as patrols, videttes, and bearers of the general's orders to various military 
1 posts ; and they were never spared in battle. 

17 



ill 



258 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The cavalry of the Guard was detailed from various 
corps during the contest.* In the earlier campaigns, 

* A new organization of the Guard took place at the close of April, 1777, when 
Washington was at Morristown, in New Jersey. On the thirtieth of that month, ho 
issued the following circular to the colonels of regiments stationed there : — 

" Sir : I want to form a company for my guard. In doing this, I wish to be 
extremely cautious, because it is more than probable that, in the course of the cam- 
paign, my baggage, papers, and other matters of great public import, may be com- 
mitted to the sole care of these men. This being premised, in order to impress you 
with proper attention in the choice, I have to request that you will immediately fur- 
nish me with four men of your regiment ; and, as it is my farther wish that this 
company should look well, and be nearly of a size, I desire that none of the men 
may exceed in stature five feet ten inches, nor fall short of five feet nine inches — 
sober, young, active, and well made. When I recommend care in your choice, I 
would be understood to mean, of good character, in the regiment — that possess the 
pride of appearing clean and soldierlike. I am satisfied there can be no absolute 
security for the fidelity of this class of people ; but yet I think it most likely to be 
found in those who have family connections in the country. You will, therefore, 
send me none but natives. I must insist that, in making this choice, you give no 
intimation of my preference of natives, as I do not want to create any invidious 
distinction between them and the foreigners." 

A few days before making this requisition, Washington wrote as follows to the 
captain-commandant of his Guard — Caleb Gibbs : — 

" MoKRiSTOWN, April 22, 1777. 

" Dear Sir : I forgot before you left this place to desire you to provide clothing 
for the men that are to compose my Guard — but now desire that you will apply to 
the clothier-general, and have them forwarded to this place, or headqu.'\rtcrs, as 
soon as possible. 

" Provide for four sergeants, four corporals, a drum and fife, and fifty rank and file. 
If blue and buff can be had, I should prefer that uniform, as it is the one I wear 
myself. If it can not, Mr. Mease and you may fix upon any other, red excepted. I 
shall get men from five feet nine to five feet ten, for the Guard ; for such sized men, 
therefore make your clothing. You may get a small round hat, or a cocked one, as 
you please. 

" In getting these clothes no mention need be made for what purpose they are in- 
tended ; for though no extraordinary expense will attend it, and the Guard which is 
absolutely necessary for the security of my baggage and papers, &c., may as well be 
in uniform ; yet the report of making a uniform (or if already made, of providing 
uniform) for the Guards, creates an idea of expense which I would not wish 
should go forth. 

" That your arms may also be of a piece, I herewith enclose you an order on the 
com'y of stores for fifty muskets. I am, dear sir, your most obe'dt, 

" Geo. Washingtom." 



Washington's life-guard. 259 

from Baylor's regiment, which was called Lady Washing- 
ton's Dragoons — uniform white, with blue facings, &c.'^" 
The Life-Guard, always attached to the headquarters, was 
admired as well for its superior appearance as for its high 
state of discipline ; it being considered, in the olden time, 
a matter of distinction to serve in the Guard of the com- 
mander-in-chief f 

* Lieutenant-Colonel Baylor's corps was one of the finest in the army. While 
lying at Old Tappan, near the Hudson, with his regiment, in fancied security, tow- 
ard the close of September, 1778, he was surprised by General Grey (father of Earl 
Grey, late premier of England), of Cornwallis's army, and a large number of his 
men were brutally bayoneted while imploring quarter. Out of one hundred and 
sixty-four men, sixty-seven were killed or wounded. Lieutenant-Colonel Baylor 
was tnken prisoner; and seventy horses belonging to the corps were butchered. 

t After the reorganization of the Guard, in the spring of 1777, the number was 
considerably increased. In the sprmg of 1778, the Baron von Steuben arrived at the 
camp at Valley Forge, and assumed the oflSce of inspector-general of the army. 
He selected one hundred and twenty men from the line, whom he formed into a 
special guard for the general-in-chief. He made them his military school, drilled 
them twice a-day, and thus commenced that admirable system of discipline by which 
he rendered most important service to the American cause. 

Caleb Gibbs was still captain-commandant, and remained in that position until 
near the close of 1779, when he was succeeded by William Colfax, one of his three 
lieutenants, the other two being Henry P. Livingston, of New York, and Benjamin 
Grymes, of Virginia. Colfax became commandant while Washington was stationed 
at Morristown, and when the number of the corps was greater than at any other 
period during the war. He was born in Connecticut, in the year 1760, and at the 
age of seventeen he was commissioned as lieutenant of the continental army. Ho 
was in the battle at White Plains, where he was shot through the body. When he 
became the leader of the general's Guard, a strong attachment was formed be- 
tween the commander-in-chief and the young subaltern. Washington often shared 
his tent and his table with him ; and he gave the young man many tokens of his 
esteem. One of these the family of General Colfax yet possesses. It is a silver 
stock-buckle, set with paste brilliants. Colfax was at the surrender of Cornwallis 
at Yorktown, and he remained with the army until it was disbanded late in 1783. 
He then settled at Pompton, New Jersey, where he married Hester Schuyler, a 
cousin of General Philip Schuyler. In 1793, he was commissioned by Governor 
Howell, general and commander-in-chief of the militia of New Jersey. He was a 
presidential elector in 1798; and in 1810 he was commissioned a brigadier-general 
of the Jersey Blues, and was active during the earlier period of the war of 1812. 
He was appointed a judge of the Common Pleas of Bergen county, which office he 



260 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The Life-Guard was "borrowed by favorite officers for 
several important expeditions. In the affair of Barren 
Hill, in May '78,* the Life-Guard formed a part of the 
troops under the Marquis de Lafayette, who, recovered 
of the wound he received in the preceding campaign,-]- in 
'78 made his debut in arms as a general officer. The 
position at Barren hill becoming extremely hazardous, 
on account of two heavy columns of the enemy that 
were marching to intercept the communication of the 
marquis with the main army at Valley Forge, the young 
general determined, by a gallant dash between the ad- 
vancing columns, to reach the ford on the Schuylkill, and 
thus secure his retreat to the main army. Here let our 
narration pause, while we pay a well-merited tribute to 
the memory and services of Allen M'Lane, to whose 
untiring vigilance in watching the stealthy approach of 
the enemy's columns toward Barren hill, and prompt- 
ness in attacking them on their route, the marquis was 
mainly indebted for success in the celebi^ated retreat 
that shed such lustre on his first command. 

In Allen M'Lane, we have the recollection of a parti- 
san who, with genius to conceive, possessed a courage 
even to chivalry to execute the most daring enterprises ; 



field until his death, which occurred in 1838, when he was seventy-eight years of 
age. He was then buried with military honors. 

* When rumors reached Washington, in his camp at Valley Forge, that the Brit- 
ish were about to evacuate Philadelphia, he detached Lafayette, with little over a 
thousand cliosen men, and five pieces of cannon, to take position eastward of the 
Schuylkill, nearer Philadelphia, to watch their movements. He took post upon 
Barren hill, about half way between Valley Forge and Philadelphia, on the 
eighteenth of May. 

t Lafayette was severely wounded in his leg, by a musket ball, at the battle of 
Brandywine, on the eleventh of September, 1777. He tarried, during his disability, 
among the Moravians, at Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania. 



WASHINGTON'S LIFE-GUARD. 261 

who ever ranked with the foremost in the esteem of the 
chief, and was considered by the whole army as one of 
the most intrepid and distinguished officers of the war 
of the Revolution. 

When the retiring Americans reached the ford of the 
Schuylkill,* they hesitated in attempting the passage. La- 
fayette sprang from his horse, and rushed into the water 
waist deep, calling on his comrades to follow. Animated 
by the example of their youthful general, the soldiers 
entered the river, the taller men sustaining the shorter, 
and after a severe struggle gained the southern or friendly 
shore, having suffered but inconsiderable loss. 

Meanwhile, the enemy were in* close pursuit, and the 
commander-in-chief, fearing for the detachment, which 
consisted of his choicest troops, including the Life-Guard, 
dragged his artillery to the rocky heights that com- 
manded the ford, and opened upon the enemy's advance, 
checking them so far as to enable the marquis the better 
to secure his retreat. There was one feature in the 
martial spectacle of the passage of the Schuylkill of rare 
and imposing interest: it was the admired form of Wash- 
ington, at times obscured, and then beheld amid the 
smoke of the cannonade, as, attended by his generals and 
staff, he would waive his hat to encourage the soldiers 
in their perilous passage of the stream. 

On the morning of the battle of Monmouth, June, '78, 
a detachment from the Life-Guard, and one from Mor- 

* Matson's ford, a few miles below Norristown. Through lack of vigilance on 
the part of some militia, Lafayette came very near being surrounded at Barren hill 
by General Grant, with five thousand men. With perfect presence of mind, the 
marquis threw out small parties so judiciously, that Grant, supposing he was pre- 
paring for an attack, halted his column to make similar preparations. This gave 
Lafayette an opportunity to escape. 



262 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

gan's riflemen, led by Morgan's favorite, Captain Gabriel 
Long, made a brilliant dash at a party of the enemy 
which they surprised while washing at a brook that ran 
through an extensive meadow. Seventeen grenadiers 
were made prisoners, and borne off in the very face of 
the British light-infantry, who fired upon their daring 
assailants, and immediately commenced a hot pursuit; 
yet Long displayed such consummate ability as well as 
courage, that he brought off his party, prisoners and all, 
with only the loss of one sergeant wounded. 

Morgan was in waiting, at the out-post, to receive the 
detachment on their return, having listened, with much 
anxiety, to the heavy fire of the pursuing enemy. Charm- 
ed with the success of the enterprise, in the return of 
the troops almost unharmed, and in the prisoners taken, 
Morgan wrung the favorite captain by the hand, and paid 
his compliments to the officers and men of his own corps, 
and of the Life-Guard. Then the famed Leader of the 
Woodsmen indulged himself in a stentorian laugh that 
made all ring again, at the bespattered condition of the 
gentlemen, as he was pleased to term the Life-Guard, and 
who, in their precipitate retreat, having to pass through 
certain swamps that abound in the portion of New Jersey 
then the seat of war, presented a most soiled appearance 
for troops who might be termed the martinets of sixty 
years ago. ' 

It is believed that the late Colonel John Nicholas, of 
Virginia, was the last of the Life-Guard.^ 

* This was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the thirtieth of Jan- 
uary, 1838. One of the Life-Guard, and doubtless the very lust survivor, lived until 
early in 1856, eighteen years after the text of this chapter was published. His name 
was Uzal Knapp, and at the time of his death, was a resident of New Windsor, 
Orange county. New York. He was a native of Stamford, Connecticut, where he 



I 



WASIimGTON's LIFE-GUARD. 263 

was born in October, 1758. At the age of eighteen years he enlisted in the con- 
tinental army, as a common soldier, to serve "for and during the war;" and he 
was continually on duty from that time until his discharge in June, 1783. His first 
active service was at White Plains, in the autumn of 1776. He was with Wooster 
at Ridgefield; and was at Peekskill when Forts Clinton and Montgomery were 
stormed and taken by the British, in the autumn of 1777. He passed the following 
winter among the snows of Valley Forge, and in May he joined the light-infantry 
of Lafayette, at Barren hill. He was with him in the battle of Monmouth, in June ; 
and in the winter of 1780, when the number of the Life-Guard was augmented, he 
entered that corps at Morristown, and received from the hands of Washington the 
commission of sergeant. At the time of his discharge, he received from the com- 
mander-in-chief the Badge of Military Merit, for six years' faithful service. This 
honorary badge of distinction was established by Washington, in August, 1781, and 
was conferred upon non-commissioned officers and soldiers who had served three 
years with bravery, fidelity, and good conduct, and upon every one who should per- 
form any singularly meritorious action. The badge entitled the recipient " to pass 
and repass all guards and military posts as fully and amply as any commissioned 
officer whatever." It was the order of the American " Legion of Honor." 

After the war, Sergeant Knapp settled in New Windsor, near Newburgh ; and 
there he lived the quiet life of a farmer until his death, which occurred on the 
eleventh of January, 1856, when he was little more than ninety-six years of age. 
His body was taken to Newburgh, and there lay in state for three days, in the centre 
of the reception-room in Washington's headquarters, so well preserved as the property 
of the state. On Wednesday, the sixteenth of January, attended by a civic and 
military pageant, and a vast assemblage of people, it was buried at the foot of the 
flag-staff, on the slope near that venerated building around which cluster so many 
memories of Washington and the continental army. It is a most appropriate 
burial-place for the mortal remains of the veteran guardsman. 



264 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE HUNTING-SHIRT. 

Majoe Adlttm's Letter — Account op Smallwood's Regiment in Philadelphia — Theib 
Attieb — Chakacter of the Members — The Eegiment on Long Island — Its Wreck — I 
Eemarks BY Me. CtrsTis — Morgan's Riflemen at Quebec — Their Appearance — Anec- I 
dote op a Yankee Captain — A British Admiral Outwitted — Feae op Morgan's Rifle- 1 
jjKN — Their Attachment to theik Leader — The Highland Costume — A Plea foe the I 
Hunting-shirt. I 

In the National Intelligencer, on the twelfth of Octo- 
ber, 1833, the editor remarked: — 

"The following interesting reminiscence of the days 
of trial, with a graphic description of a corps, that was 
composed of the chivalry of Maryland, and formed the 
very elite of the army of independence, in the memorable 
campaign of 1776, will, we are assured, be read with 
gratification by all the Americans. 

"These details are selected from among a series of 
papers, furnished by our venerable neighbor, and Revo- 
lutionary veteran. Major Adlum, to Mr. Custis, of Arling- 
ton, for the latter gentleman's work, ' The Private Me- 
moirs of Washington.' 

" ' Smallwood's regiment arrived in Philadelphia about 
the middle of July, 1776, the day after the militia of ^ 
Yorktown* got there. I happened to be in Market street 
when the regiment was marching down it. They turned 
up Front street, till they reached the Quaker meeting- 

* York, Pennsylvania. 



THE HUNTING-SHIRT. 265 

house, called the Bank meeting, where they halted for 
some time, which I presumed was owdng to a delicacy on 
the part of the officers, seeing they were about to be 
quartered in a place of worship. After a time, they 
moved forward to the door, where the officers halted, 
and their platoons came up, and stood with their hats off, 
while the soldiers with recovered arms, marched into the 
meeting-house. The officers then retired, and sought 
quarters elsewhere. 

" ' The regiment was then said to be eleven hundred 
strong ; and never did a finer, more dignified, and braver 
body of men, face an enemy. They were composed of 
the flower of Maryland, being young gentlemen, the sons 
of opulent planters, farmers, and mechanics. From the 
colonel to the private, all were attired in hunting-shirts. 
I afterward saw this fine corps on their march to join 
General Washington.* 

"'In the battle of Long Island,^ Smallwood's regi- 
ment, when engaged with an enemy of overwhelmingly 
superior force, displayed a courage and discipline, that 
sheds upon its memory an undying lustre, while it was 

* They joined the American army under Washington, at New York, at the close 
of July, and presented a strong contrast to the irregularly-dressed troops from New 
England. 

t British and German troops, to the number of about thirty thousand, arrived at 
Staten Island, before New York, at the close of July, 1776. Washington, with an 
army of about seventeen thousand men, mostly militia, lay intrenched in New York 
and vicinity, waiting for the expected foe. In that relative position the two armies 
lay until the morning of the twenty-second of August, when ten thousand of the 
enemy landed upon the west end of Long Island. Meanwhile, Washington had 
formed a fortified camp on high ground near Brooklyn, on Long Island, opposite 
New York, and in that vicinity a severe battle was fought, on the twenty-seventh of 
August, in which the British were victorious, the Americans losing in killed, wound- 
ed, and prisoners, about sixteen hundred men. These were soon made to feel the 
horrible sufferings which gave the name of hdls to the prison-ships in the harbor of 
New York and the jails in the city. 



266 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

SO cut to pieces, tliat in the October following, when I 
again saw the regiment, its remains did not exceed a 
hundred men * 

" ' Captain Edward de Courcj, Captain Herbert, a cap- 
tain, and a Doctor Stuart, of Smallwood's, were among 
the prisoners taken at Long Island, with whom I became 
acquainted, while I was a prisoner in New York. 

" ' The wreck of the once superb regiment of Small- 
wood fouo-ht in the battles of the White Plains and the 

o 

subsequent actions in the Jerseys, and in the memorable 
campaign of 1776, terminating with the battle of Prince- 
ton, January, 1777, where the remains of the regiment, 
reduced to little more than a company, were commanded 
by Captain, afterward Governor Stone of Maryland.' " 

To the above communication Mr. Custis added the fol- 
io win o; remarks : — 

The hunting-shirt, the emblem of the Revolution, is 
banished from the national military, but still lingers 
among the hunters and pioneers of the Far West. This 
national costume, properly so called, was adopted in the 
outset of the Revolution, and was recommended by I 
Washington to his army,-|* in the most eventful period of 

* In a severe conflict between the divisions of Lord Stirling, of the republican I 
army, and Lord Cornwallis, of the British army, Smallwood's regiment lost, two 
hundred and fifty-nine of its members. 

t Washington was an early advocate for the hunting-shirt, in imitation of the In- 
dian costume. While on the march for Fort du Quesne, in July 1758, he wrote 
to Colonel Boquet, saying : " My men are very bare of regimental clothing, and I 
have no prospect of a supply. So far from regretting this want during the present 
campaign, if I were left to pursue my own inclination, I would not only order the 
men to adopt the Indian dress, but cause the officers to do it also, and be the first to 
set the example myself. Nothing but the uncertainty of obtaining the general ap- 
probation causes me to hesitate a moment to leave my regimentals at this place [camp 
near Fort Cumberland], and proceed as light as any Indian in the woods. It is an 
unbecoming dress, I own, for an officer; but convenience, ratlier than show, should 



THE HUNTmG-SHmT. 267 

the War for Independence. It was a fovorite garb with 
many of the officers of the Une, particularly by the gal- 
lant Colonel Josiah Parker. 

When Morgan's riflemen, made prisoners at the as- 
sault on Quebec, in 1775,* w^ere returning to the South to 
be exchanged, the British garrisons on the route beheld 
with wonder these sons of the mountain and the forest. 
Their hardy looks, their tall athletic forms, their march- 
ing always in Indian file, with the light and noiseless 
step peculiar to their pursuit of woodland game ; but, 
above all, to European eyes, their singular and picturesque 
costume, the hunting-shirt, with its fringes, the wampum 
belts, leggins, and moccasins, richly worked with the In- 
dian ornaments of beads and porcupine quills of brilliant 
and varied dyes, the tomahawk and knife ; these, with 
the well known death-dealing aim of those matchless 
marksmen, created in the European military a degree of 

be consulted. The reduction of bat-horses alone would be sufficient to recommend 
it, for nothing is more certain than that less baggage would be required, and the 
public benefited in proportion." 

Boquet, like a sensible man, gave a sympathetic response to Washington's sug- 
gestions, but the remainder of the regular officers opposed it. Washington tried the 
experiment, and it was eminently successful. He equipped two companies in that 
way and sent them to headquarters. The weather was then extremely hot, and the 
light costume pleased all wearers. Colonel Boquet wrote to Washington : " The 
dress takes very well Iiere, and, thank God, we see nothing but shirts and blankets." 
Sach was the origin of the hunting-shirt, or costume of the American riflemen. 

* Morgan, at the head of a rifle corps, accompanied General Arnold in the expe- 
dition across the country from the Atlantic to the St. Lawrence, in the autumn of 
1775. That expedition, emerging from the wilderness, appeared at Point Levi, op- 
posite Quebec, in the midst of falling snow, in November. The apparition startled 
the Quebec people, and by the mistake of a single word, their fears were greatly in- 
creased. Morgan's men had the linen hunting-shirt over their thick clothing, and 
those who first saw them, reported that they were vctu en toile — clothed in lineu 
clothes. The word toi/e was mistaken for tole, iron plate, and the news spread that 
they were clad in sheet iron ! In the siege that afterward followed, Morgan and his 
brave men were made prisoners by the British. 



268 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

awe and respect for the liiniting-sliirt, which lasted with 
the War of the Revolution.* 

That the fame of the prowess of American woodsmen 
had not been effaced by time, let me instance the " ntse 
de guerre" most happily played off by a Yankee captain 
npon a British admiral during the last war. 

A Captain G had been taken by one of the vessels 

composing the Chesapeake squadron,f and was carried on 
board the admiral's ship, who, after civilly treating his 
prisoner, one day observed, " Pray, Captain G — — , if II 
should determine to make a reconnoissance up the Poto- 
mac, toward your seat of government, how many rifle-, 
men may I expect to find on the banks of the river, as 
my pilots tell me the channel-way in some places runs 
very near the land ? I do not mean your regulars, but 
those hunting-shirt fellows, from the woods, who can hit 
any button on my coat, when they are in the humor of 
sharp-shooting," Here the Yankee, being wide awake to 
the importance of the question, as regarding his country's 
interests, went right to windward of the admiral at once. 
He looked grave, and began to reckon deliberately on 
his fingers ; after a time, he replied, with perfect compo- 
sure, "Why, I guess somewhere about ten or eleven 
thousand, sir." The Briton, in his turn, looked grave, 

* General Gates bore testimony to the fact, that Morgan's corps inspired the 
British with fear. Washington had sent that fine corps to assist Gates in opposing 
Burgoyne. After the battle near Stillwater, on the nineteenth of September, 1777, 
he wrote to Gates to send them back again if he could possibly spare them Gates 
received the letter just before the decisive engagement of the seventh of October, and 
in reply, after stating that he could not then part with any of his troops, he remarked, 
" In this situation your excellency would not wish me to part with the corps the army 
of General Burgoyne are most afraid of." 

t Under Admiral Cockburn, who engaged in an amphibious marauding warfare 
on the shores of that bay. 



THE HUNTING-SHIRT. 269 

and turning to his officers, observed, " I believe we will 
not go up at this time." 

Not a long rifle, that is, such as a hunting-shirt would 
use (for a genuine Tomahawk would not pick up in the 
street a short, or jager piece), was at the time within a 
hundred miles of the Potomac, and the Yankee well 
knew it ; but finding that he had an opportunity of pro- 
tecting an important portion of his country by hoaxing 
a British admiral, he thought that the end justified the 
means, as to take advantage is the true morality of war. 
The Yankee so played his part, and famously too. 

General Morgan frequently observed, " The very sight 
of my riflemen was always enough for a Hessian piquet. 
They would scamper into their lines as if the d — 1 drove 
them, shouting in all the English they knew, ' Kebel in 
de bush ! rebel in de bush !' "* 

The famed corps of Morgan was raised in the Shenan- 
doah valley and the mountains circumjacent. The drum 
and fife, and even the sergeant's hard dollars on the drum- 
head, would not have enlisted a man of this corps. It 
was Hke the devotion of a Highland clan to its chief 
Morgan was the chief — Morgan, with whom those hardy 
fellows had wrestled and fought, and kicked up all sorts 

* In the autumn of 1775, the British ministry concluded a bargain with some of 
the petty German princes for the use of seventeen thousand troops in America. Tlie 
landgrave of Hesse Cassel, having furnished the most considerable portion of these 
mercenaries, all that came over in the spring of 1776, were called by the general 
name of Hessians. Many of them ignorant, brutal, and blood-thirsty, were hated 
by the patriots, and despised even by the regular English army. They were always 
employed at posts of greatest danger, or in expeditions least creditable. Theso 
troops cost the British government eight hundred thousand dollars, besides the neces- 
sity, according to the contract, of defending the little principalities thus stripped, 
against their foes. A large portion of them were pressed into the service, and drag- 
ged away from their families ; and great numbers of them deserted before the close of 
the war. 



270 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

of a dust for a long time. When IV^^organ cried, with his 
martial inspiration, " Come, boys, who 's for the camp be- 
fore Cambridge," the mountaineers turned out to a man. 
Short was their "note of preparation." The blanket 
buckled to their backs, their baggage, a supply of food 
in their pouches, scanty as an Aborigine would take for 
a long march, their commissariat — they grasped their 
rifles, and strode away to the North, a band of young 
giants, for the combats of liberty. 

The Americans may be said at this time to have no 
national costume — all borrowed from abroad. They 
" order things" better in Scotland. There the Gael ad- 
heres to the martial habiliments of his ancestors, proud 
of their renowned recollections, and jealous of the pecu-i 
liar colors of his tartan. Amid the cruel persecutions of 
Forty-five,* was the proscription of the Highland costume ; 
which is, in truth, the only relic of the ancient Roman 
dress. What British ministry would proscribe it now. 
They hail with joy the philebeg and hose, whose war- 
riors have covered their arms with glory in every quarter 
of the world. From the time that the old Highland 
watch, the renowned " Fortie-twa,"-)* first embarked for 

* This has reference to the action of the British government after the rising of 
the Scotch in 1745, in favor of Charles Edwfard, grandson of James II. of England, 
who claimed a right to the British throne. They were put down in 1746, and many 
Buffered punishments. 

t The celebrated forty-second regiment of the British infantry, known as the Royal 
Highlanders. It was organized in May, 1 740. It was embodied in Perthshire, Scot- 
land, in 1730, as a local corps, and was widely known as the " Black Watch," the 
privates even, being gentlemen by birth and fortune. It was first called the forty- 
third regiment, and was then numbered as the forty-second in 1749. It was made 
"royal" in 1758, by George II., as a testimony of his approbation of the "extra- 
ordinary courage and exemplary conduct of the Highland regiment." 

This gallant corps has been abroad on active service more than sixty-four yeais, 
and in England and Ireland thirty-five — only thirteen years being spent in Scot- 



THE HUNTENG-SHIRT. 271 

foreign service, down, to the present hour, in every action 
where they have been engaged, in every quarter of the 
world, the friend and the foeman have alike awarded 
glory to the kilts. But suppose, for a moment, yielding 
to the " march of intellect," you disrobe Donald of his 
trews, and fit him with " braw breeks," in their stead- — 
adieu, then, adieu to the magic influence of the soul- 
stirring pipes ; no longer will the awful cry of Claymore 
drive him headlong into the ranks of the foe ; and soon, 

land. It has served in twenty-nine expeditions and campaigns, and lias been en- 
gaged in more than fifty battles, sieges, and skirmishes. The following is a list of 
the principal campaigns and actions of note in which it has distinguished itself: — 

At the bloody battle of Fontenoy, in 1745 ; the descent on the coast of France and 
the siege of L'Orient, in 1746 ; the raising of the siege of Hulse, and the campaign 
in South Beveland, in 1747 ; the attack on Ticonderoga, in 1758 ; that on Martinique 
and the capture of Guadaloupe ; the expedition to Lakes George and Champlain, 
nnder General Amherst, including the surrender by the French of Crown Point and 
Ticonderoga, in 1759 ; the surrender of Montreal, in 1760 ; the capture of Martinique, 
siege of the Moro castle and capture of Havana, in 1762; the campaigns against 
the North American Indians in 1763, 1764, and 1765. 

During our War for Independence the forty-second was present at the battles of 
Brooklyn and Long Island, and the capture of Fort Washington, in 1776; Brandy- 
wine and Germuntown, 1777; Monmouth, 1778; Elizabethtown, 1779; siege of 
Charleston, 1780, and many minor affairs. 

During the war of the first French Revolution, the forty-second was engaged in 
the battles of Nieuport, 1793; Gildermaison, 1795; the capture of St. Lucia and St. 
Vincent, 1796, and Minorca, 1798. In Egypt, it was present in the several actions 
under Abercrombie, and gained the red-feather as a particular mark of distinction for 
its gallantry there. The regiment was also in Moore's campaign in Portugal and 
Spain, the disastrous retreat to Coi'unna and the fierce fight there, in 1808-9. It 
was in the unfortunate Walcheren expedition; fought in the battle of Salamanca; 
was at the siege of and retreat from Burgos, and in the battles in and near the Py- 
renees — Nivelle, Nive, Orthes, and finally at Thoulouse — which terminated Wel- 
lington's campaigns in Spain and the occupation of that country by the French 
armies. The regiment was in the bloody battle of Quatre Bras, and distinguished 
itself a few days after in the awful struggle at Waterloo. Since then they have 
maintained their well-earned reputation in the Crimea and in India. 

The forty-second is one of the oldest of all the Scotch regiments now in the British 
army; the others are the seventy-first, seventy-second, seventy-third, seventy-fourth, 
seventy-fifth, seventy-sixth, seventy-eighth, ninety-first, ninety-second, and ninety- 
third. 



272 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

very soon, would there -be a farewell to the glories of the 
«forty-twa." 

And should not Americans feel proud of the garb, and 
hail it as national, in which their fathers endured such 
toil and privation, in the mighty struggle for Independ- 
ence, which is associated with so many and imposing 
events of the days of trial — the march across the frozen 
wilderness, the assault on Quebec,* the triumphs of Sar- 
atogaf and the King's mountain ?J But a little while, 
and of a truth, the hunting-shirt, the venerable emblem 
of the Revolution, will have disappeared from among the 
Americans, and only to be found in museums, like ancient 
armor, exposed to the gaze of the curious. 

* Arnold's expedition in the autumn of 1775, and the siege of Quebec, where 
they were made prisoners. See page 267. 

t When General Burgoyne, with a large invading army that had penetrated from 
Canada, was obliged to surrender to the republicans, under General Gates. 

J Eai'ly in the autumn of 1780, Cornwallis, who held South Carolina in subjec- 
tion, resolved to invade the North State. As a part of his plan, he sent Major 
Patrick Ferguson to embody the tories among the mountains, west of the Broad 
river. Early in October he crossed that stream with a considerable force, and en- 
camped among the hills of King's mountain. There he was attacked on the seventh 
by several corps of whig militia. A bloody contest ensued, and the republicans 
were victorious. Ferguson was slain, and three hundred of his men were killed and 
wounded. Eight hundred of them were made pi-isoners. There were many hunting- 
shirts in the republican ranks on that day. 



WASHINGTON S HEADQUARTERS. 2/3 



CHAPTER IX. 

Washington's headquarters. 

USadqttakters at Morristown — Valley Forge and its Associations — Privations tuerk 

— Conway's Cabal — Alliance with France Proclaimed — Headquarters under Can- 
vass — Banqueting and Sleeping Marquees — Washington within them — The Maker 
OP THE Marquees — The Life-Guard — Governor Trumbull — Putnam starting fob 
the Camp — Washington's Appeal for Assistance — Scene in Governor Trumbull'3 
Presence — Tub Governor's Patriotism — Supplies Promised — Joy on their Arrival 

— Trumbull's two Sons — Captain Molly and the Commander-in-chief — Old Sol- 
diers at the Presidential Mansion — Reverence foe Headquarters. 

Many of the establishments that constituted the head- 
quarters during the Revolution yet remain for the vene- 
ration of the Americans/'' At Cambridge,-|* Morristown,J 

* This chapter was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty-third 
of February, 1843. 

t Wasliington's residence during the time a portion of the American army occu- 
pied Cambridge, near Boston, from the spring of 1773 until that of 1776, is yet 
standing, and is well preserved. It was known as the Cragie House, and has been 
for many years the property and residence of Professor Henry Wadsworth Long- 
fellow, tlie poet. It is a spacious building, standing at the upper of two terraces, 
which are ascended by five stone steps. At each front of the house is a lofty elm, 
mere saplings when Washington was thei'e. Everything within is sacredly pre- 
served in its ancient style, for the hand of the iconoclast, Improvement, has not been 
allowed to strike a single blow there. 

X The house in which "Washington resided at Morristown is well preserved. It is 
about a quarter of a mile eastward of the village green. Washington first occupied 
it in the winter of 1777, after his brilliant achievements at Trenton and Princeton. 
He was again there during the winter of 1779-'80. During the war it was tlie resi- 
dence of Widow Ford, mother of the late Judge Gabriel Ford, who lived there until 
his death, which occurred a few years ago. It, too, is quite a spacious mansion, 
pleasantly situated near the highway. There in the autumn of 1848, while Judge 
Ford was yet living, I passed a night, and slept in the room occupied by General 
Washington and his lady. The carpet and some of the furniture were the same 
that belonged to the room when that illustrious couple occupied it. 

18 



274 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Newburgli/'' New Wmdsor,-|- "West Point,J and other 
places, the buildings are still preserved; but of the 

* The headquarters at Newburgh presents a point of great attraction to tourists 
on the Hudson during the summer season. It is a rather small, old-fashioned Dutch 
house, fronting the river, and now belongs to the state of New York, it having come 
into its possession by foreclosure of a mortgage. It is in charge of the public author- 
ities at Newburgh, and has been thorouglily repaired, care having been. taken to 
preserve the ancient form of every part that Avas renewed. It was dedicated to the 
public service with appropriate ceremonies, on the fourth of July, 1850, when Major- 
Geueral Winfield Scott, who was present, hoisted the American flag upon a lofty 
staff that had just been erected near. At the foot of that flag-staff, as we have 
already observed, the last survivor of Washington's Life-Guard lies buried. 

The front door of this mansion opens into a large square room, which was used 
by Washington for his public audiences, and as a dining hall. It is remarkable as 
liaving seven doors, and only one window. In the December number of the New 
York Mirror for 1834, is an interesting account of this old building, by Gulian C. 
Verplanck, Esq. He relates the following anecdote connected with this room, 
which he received from Colonel Nicholas Fish, father of the late governor of the 
state of New York. Just before Lafayette's death, himself and the American minis- 
ter, with several of his countrymen, were invited to dine at the house of the dis- 
tinguished Frenchman, Marbois, who was the French secretary of legation here dur- 
ing the Revolution. At the supper hour the company were shown into a room which 



contrasted quite oddly with the Parisian elegance of the other apartments where they I 
had spent the evening. A low boarded, painted ceiling, with large beams, a single ' 

I 



small, uncurtained window, with numerous small doors, as well as the general style 
of the whole, gave, at first, the idea of the kitchen, or largest room of a Dutch or 
Belgian farm-house. On a long rough table was a repast, just as little in keeping 
with the refined kitchens of Paris as the room was with its architecture. It consisted 
of a large dish of meat, uncouth-looking pastry, and wine in decanters and bottles, 
accompanied by glasses and silver mugs, such as indicated other habits and tastes 
than those of modern Paris. " Do you know where we now are ?" said the host to 
Lafayette and his companions. They paused for a few minutes in surprise. They 
had seen something like this before, but when and where 1 " Ah ! the seven doors 
and one window," said Lafayette, " and the silver camp-goblets, such as tlie mar- 
shals of France used in my youth ! We are at Washington's headquarters on the 
Hudson, fifty years ago !" 

t Washington lived in a plain Dutch house at New Windsor, which has long 
since passed away. He occupied it first on the twenty-third of June, 1779, and 
again toward the close of 1780, where he remained until the summer of 1781. In 
that humble tenement, Mrs. Washington entertained the most distinguished officers 
and their ladies, as well as the most obscure, who sought her friendship. New- 
Windsor village is about two miles below Newburgh. 

J Washington never remained at West Point long at a time, and, properly 
speaking, he had no headquarters there. At this time not a single building of any 



Washington's headquarters. 275 

Valley Forge it is doubtful whether there exists at this 
time any remains of the headquarters so memorable in 
the history of the days of trial/*'' 

If the headquarters at Morristown were bleak and 
gloomy, from being located in a mountainous region, and 
occupied in the depth of winter,^ the soldier was cheered 
amid his privations by the proud and happy remembrance 
of his triumphs at the close of the campaign of 17764 

kind remains that was standing on or near the Point during the Revolution. 
There may be seen the mounds of Fort Clinton, and upon the mountain, westward, 
five hundred feet above the plateau on which the Military Academy now stands, 
may be seen the grey ruins of Fort Putnam, finely relieved by surrounding ever- 
greens. Nearly opposite West Point, on the eastern shore of the Hudson, is the 
well-preserved mansion of Beverly Robinson, where Arnold had his quarters, and 
from which he fled for refuge on board the British sloop-of-war Vulture. 

* The Potts House, the residence of Washington at Valley Forge, is well-prC' 
served. It is at the mouth of the valley, near the banks of the Schuylkill. It is a 
substantial stone building. The main portion was erected by Isaac Potts (who had 
ironworks there), in 1770. A wing, used as a kitchen, is on the site of the log ad- 
dition to which Mrs. Washington thus alluded in a letter to Mi's Mercy Warren, 
written in the spring of 1778 : " The general's apartment is very small ; he has had a 
log cabin built to dine in, which has made our quarters much more tolerable than 
they were at first." When I visited the house, a few years ago, I was shown a cavity 
in the deep east window, formed with a lid, in which the commander-in-chief kept 
his papers while he resided there. Mr. Potts, the Quaker who owned the house 
when Washington occupied it, relates that one day while the Americans were 
encamped at Valley Forge, he strolled up the creek, and when not far from his dam, 
heard a solemn voice. He walked quietly in the direction of it, and saw Washing- 
ton's horse tied to a sapling. In a thicket near by was the beloved chief upon his 
knees in prayer, his cheeks suff"used with tears. Like Moses at the bush, Isaac felt 
that he was upon holy ground, and withdrew unobserved. He was much agitated, 
and, on entering the room where his wife was, he burst into tears. On her inquiring 
the cause, he informed her of what he had seen, and added, " If there is any one on 
this earth whom the Lord will listen to, it is George Washington ; and I feel a pre- 
sentiment that under such a commander there can be no doubt of our eventually 
establishing our independence, and that God in his providence hath willed it so." 
I 1 Morristown is in the hill-country of East Jersey, and was considered a most 
1 secure and eligible place for a winter encampment ; not easily accessible by the 
enemy, and surrounded by a fertile country. 

t The brilliant achievements at Trenton and Princeton, which led to the speedy 
expulsion of the British from New Jersey, except at Brunswick and Amboy. 



276 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHmGTON. 

Not such were the ass'ociations that attended the head- 
quarters at Valley Forge, at the close of the campaign 
of 1777. The American army, defeated in two hard- 
fought general engagements,* beheld its enemy comfort- 
ably housed in Philadelphia, while it was compelled at 
an inclement season to retire to a forest, there to erect 
huts for shelter, and where it afterwards endured the 
greatest extremities of human suffering.-}- But Wash- 

* Brandywine and Germantown. 

t The courage of the battle-field dwindles almost into insignificance when com- Z 
pared with that sublime heroism displayed by the American soldiery at Valley " 
Forge, in the midst of frost and snow, disease and destitution. They had marched 
and countermarched, day and night, in endeavoring to baffle the designs of a power- 
ful enemy to their country and its liberties ; now they were called upon, in the midst i 
of comparative inaction, to war with enemies more insidious, implacable, and per- 
sonal. Hunger and nakedness assailed that dreary winter-camp, with all their pro- 
geny of disease and woe. Thither, as we have seen, the soldiers came with naked 
and bleeding feet; and there they sat down where destitution held court, and 
ruled with an icy sceptre. The prevalence of toryism in the vicinity, the avaricious 
peculations of some unprincipled commissioners, the tardy movements of Congress 
in supplying provisions, and the close proximity of a powerful enemy, combined to 
make the procurement of provisions absolutely impracticable without resort to force. 
But few horses were in the camp ; and such was the deficiency, in this respect, for 
the ordinary, as well as extraordinary occasions of the army, that the men, in many 
instances, cheerfully yoked themselves to vehicles of their own construction, for 
carrying wood and provisions when procui-ed ; while others performed the duty of 
pack-horses, and carried heavy burdens of fuel upon their backs. — Lossing's Field- 
Book of the devolution, ii. 129. 

On the sixteenth of February, 1778, Washington wrote to Governor Clinton, 
" For some days past there has been little less than a famine in the camp. A part 
of the army has been a week without any kind of flesh, and the rest three or four 
days. Naked and starving as they are, we can not enough admire the incomparable 
patience and fidelity of the soldiery, that they have not been, ere this, excited by 
their sufferings to a general mutiny and desertion." — " The situation of the camp 
is such," wrote General Varnum to General Greene, on the twelfth of February, 
" that in all human probability the army must dissolve. Many of the troops are 
destitute of meat, and are several days in arrears. The horses are dying for want 
of forage. The country in the vicinity of the camp is exhausted. There can not 
be a moral certainty of bettering our condition while we remain here. What con- 
sequences have we rationally to expect?" — " It was with great diflSculty," says 
Doctor Thacher, " that men enough could be found in a condition fit to discharge 



Washington's headquarters. 277 

ington was in the midst of his faithful companions in 
arms, ever employed in limiting their privations, in alle- 
viating their miseries, and holding up to them the hopes 
of better fortunes. And oft in the rude wintry night, 
when the tempest howled among the hovels, and the 
shivering sentry paced his lonely round, would his eye 
be attracted to the taper that burned in the headquar- 
ters, where the man of mighty labors, watching while 
others slept, toiled in the cause of unborn millions. 

At the headquarters of the Valley Forge occurred 
some of the most memorable incidents of the war for Inde- 
pendence. It was there the general received the appal- 
ling intelligence that not another ration was in store to 
issue to his troops. It was there that he was forced, by 
a stern and painful necessity, to use the high powers 
vested in him by Congress, to seize upon provisions for 
the relief of his starving soldiers."^ It was there, while 
struggling with dangers and difficulties, while borne 
down with the cares and sorrows of his country's cause, 
that Washington was informed of the cabalf then agita- 

the military camp duties from day to day ; and for this purpose, tiiose who were 
naked borrowed of those who had clothes." Unprovided with materials to raise 
their beds from the ground, the dampness occasioned sickness and death. " The 
army, indeed, was not without consolation," says Thacher, " for his excellency, the 
commander-in-chief, whom every soldier venerates and loves, manifested a fatherly 
concern and fellow-feelings, and made every exertion in his power to remedy the 
evil, and to administer the much-desired relief." 

* The Congress, by resolution, authorized Washington to seize grain, forage, 
and other supplies, for the use of the army, within an area of seventy miles around 
his camp, the whole to be paid for. The tories were so abundant in Pennsylvania 
at that time, that this measure appeared necessary, for they would not sell provisions 
for the "rebel" camp. In February, Washington reluctantly used his power, by 
compelling the farmers to thrash out their grain. He condemned the system ; and in 
a letter to the board of war, he said, " Supplies of provisions and clothing must be 

( had in another way, or the army can not exist." 

I t This is known in history as Conway's Cabal, a French officer of Irish birth, 



278 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

ting in Congress and the army, for the removal of the 
commander-in-chief 

But, with all these glooms, there were glories too, that 
shed their lustre upon the headquarters at Valley Forge. 
There was first proclaimed to the army the grateful 
tidings of the alliance with France f and it was from 

named Thomas Conway, then holding the commission of a brigadier in the Ameri- 
can army, being one of the chief actors in the matter. Generals Gates and Mifflin 
of the army, and James Lovell and other New England delegates in Congress, 
were associated with Conway in the affair. The design of the conspirators (if 
blundering and not thoroughly colluding schemers may be called conspirators), was 
to deprive Washington of the chief command of the American armies, and give it to 
General Gates, or General Lee. Both of these officers had, from the beginning of 
the war, aspired to that honor, and Gates was fully identified with the movement to 
displace Washington. Conway appears to have been more the instrument of others 
than a voluntary and independent plotter. The whole nefarious plan was dis- 
covered, and recoiled with fearful force upon the conspirators. Washington acted 
with great judgment and forbearance throughout, having an eye single to the public 
good. " My enemies," he said, " take an ungenerous advantage of me. They 
know the delicacy of my situation, and that motives of policy deprive me of the 
defence I might otherwise make against their insidious attacks. They know I can 
not combat their insinuations, however injurious, without disclosing secrets which it 
is of the utmost moment to conceal." 

* Early in tiie struggle, the colonists sent commissioners to Europe to solicit the 
aid and friendship of the continental powers. The French government evinced 
much sympathy for the Americans, extended some aid secretly, and promised more ; 
but, until the capture of Burgoyne, when the Americans showed how able they were 
to help themselves, none of tlie European powers ventured to fly in the face of Eng- 
land, by openly aiding the revolted colonists. When that event became known, 
the aspect of American affairs wore a brighter hue abroad; and on the sixth of 
Fiibruary, 1778, two treaties, one of Alliance, and the other oi Amity and Commerce, 
were concluded and signed by the representatives of France and the United States. 
Intelligence of this joyful event reached Washington at Valley Forge, at midnight, 
on the third of May, and the sixth was set apart for a grand military ^t'^e and jubilee 
by the army. The day was fine, and the roar of artillery and shouts of the soldiery 
attested their great joy. Washington and his general officers, with their ladies, 
attended the religious services of the New Jersey brigade, and then repaired to head- 
quarters and partook of a collation provided by the commander-in-chief. The enter- 
tainment was concluded with patriotic toasts. When the chief and his suite with- 
drew for a tour of inspection, there was a universal shout, " Long live General 
Washington ! " This continued until they had proceeded some distance, when the 



Washington's headquarters. 27£ 

that scene of so many trials and sufferings that, on the 
return of the genial season, the modern Fabius marched 
again to grapple with his formidable and Avell-appointed 
foe, and to wrest from him, after a most gallant and 
hard-fought conflict, a glorious victory on the plains of 
Monmouth.* 

The headquarters were under canvass during the siege 
and after the surrender of Yorktown. The marquees of 
the commander-in-chief were pitched in the rear of the 
grand battery, just out of the range of the enemy's 
shells.-}* There were two marquees attached to the 
headquarters during all the campaigns. The larger, or 
banqueting tent, would contain from forty to fifty per- 
sons ; the smaller, or sleeping tent, had an inner-cham- 
ber, where, on a hard cot-bed, the chief reposed. There 
are most interesting reminiscences attached to the sleep- 
ing tent. The headquarters, even during the summer 
season, were located, in a great majority of instances, in 
private dwellings, the sleeping tent being pitched in the 
yard, or very near at hand. Within its venerable folds, 
Washington was in the habit of seeking privacy and 
seclusion, where he could commune with himself, and 
where he wrote the most memorable of his despatches in 
the Revolutionary war. He would remain in the retire- 
general and his party tui'ned and huzzaed several times, while a thousand hats were 
tossed in the air. 

* See chapter on battle of Monmouth. 

t The late Doctor Eneas Munson, of New Haven, who was then attached to the 
medical staff of the American army, informed me that while vigorous assaults upon 
two or three English redoubts were in progress, Washington left his marquee, and 
with Lincoln, Knox, and one or two other officers, disengaged at the time, stood 
within the grand battery, watching every movement through the embrasures. When 
the last redoubt was captured, Washington turned to Knox, and said, " The work 
is done, and well done ;" and then called to his servant, *' Billy, hand me my horse." 



280 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

ment of the sleeping tent sometimes for hours, giving 
orders to the officer of his guard that he should on no 
account be disturbed, save on the arrival of an important 
express. The objects of his seclusion being accomplished, 
tlie chief would appear at the canvass door of the mar- 
quee, with despatches in his hand, giving which to his 
secretary to copy and transmit, he would either mount 
his charger for a tour of inspection, or return to the 
headquarters and enjoy social converse with his officers. 

The marquees were made in Third street, Philadel- 
pliia, under the direction of Captain Moulder, of the 
artillery/" and were first pitched on the heights of Dor- 
chester, in March, 1776.f 

The Life-Guard was attached to the headquarters from 
the time of its formation till the end of the war. This 
chosen corps of picked men, with Gibbs and Colfax, and 
their gallant officers, was always in the finest order, 
proud of its being attached to the person of the chief, 
and appearing smart and soldierly, even in the worst 
times. 

In our memoirs of the Pater Patriae, we shall continue 

* Captain Mouldei* commanded the American artillery in the battle at Princeton, 
on the third of January, 1777. 

t Washington took command of the army before Boston, on the third of July, 
1775, and, with the aid of General Gates, who was the adjutant-general, prepared 
the troops for a regular siege of the city. It was resolved to capture or expel the 
invaders, and for this purpose, a line of fortifications was built, extending from 
Charlestown Neck, near Bunker Hill, to Roxbury. For several months the Ameri- 
cans hemmed in the British army upon tlie little peninsula on which Boston stands. 
Finally, early in March, 1776, the republicans, under cover of night, proceeded to 
Porchester heights with every precaution, and before moi-ning constructed such for- 
midable military works there, that the British commander was alarmed for the safety 
of his troops and shipping. The occupation of this eligible position led to a speedy 
evacuation of Boston by the invaders, and the recovery of that important position 
by the Americans. 



Washington's headquarters. 281 

to introduce some mention of the distinguislied patriots, 
statesmen, and soldiers, who enjoj^ed his intimacy and 
were dear to his affections. High on this honored hst 
appears, in bold relief, the name of Jonathan Trumbull, 
the patriotic governor of Connecticut during the whole 
of the Revolution. He was, indeed, well fitted for the 
times in which he flourished, and such an one as revolu- 
tion alone seems capable of producing. Wise to con- 
ceive, and energetic to execute, his prudence equalled 
his courage in the conspicuous part he was destined to 
bear in those momentous concerns that eventuated in the 
independence of his country ; yet did he " bear his high 
offices so meekly," that he was as deservedly beloved for 
the mildness of his private virtues as he was admired for 
the stern unyielding integrity with which he discharged 
his public duties. It is enough for his fame, or his epi- 
taph, that he was a man after Washington's own heart.* 

* Jonathan Trumbull was born at Lebanon, Connecticut, on the ninteenth of June, 
1710. He was graduated at Harvard college in 1727, and commenced the study of 
theology with the Reverend Solomon Williams, of Lebanon. The death of an elder 
brother, who was engaged in mercantile business with his father, at Lebanon, 
caused him to become a merchant instead of a clergyman. At the age of twenty- 
three he was elected a member of the Connecticut assembly, where his business capa- 
cities raised him rapidly in public estimation. He was elected lieutenant-governor 
of the colony in 1766, and by virtue of that office became chief-justice of the superior 
court. His first bold step in (opposition to Great Britain was in refusing to take the 
oath enjoined in 1768, which was an almost unconditional submission to all tlie power 
claimed by Parliament ; nor would he be present when others, more timorous than 
he, took it. Because of his firmness he was elected governor of the colony in 1 769, 
and he had the proud distinction of being the only colonial governor, at the com- 
mencement of the Revolution, who espoused the cause of the colonies. He was con- 
sidered the whig leader in New England while the Adamses and Hancock were legis- 
lating in the continental Congress ; and during the whole contest no man was more 
implicitly relied upon as a firm, consistent, and active friend of liberty, tlian Gov- 
ernor Trumbull. " General Washington relied on him," says Sparks, "as one of his 
main pillars of support." In 1783, when peace for the colonies returned. Governor 
Trumbull, then seventy-three years of age, declined a re-election to the office of gov- 



282 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

When the news arrived in Connecticut of the battle 
of Lexington,* Putnam, who was ploughing in his field, 
instantly repaired to the governor for orders. " Go," 
said Trumbull, "to the scene of action." — "But my 
clothes, governor?" — "Oh, never mind your clothes," 
continued Trumbull, " your military experience will be 
of service to your countrymen." — "But my men, gov- 
ernor; what shall I do about my men?" — "Oh, never 
mind 3'our men," continued the man for the times, "I'll 
send your men after you." Putnam hurried to Cam- 
bridge.-j* 

ernor, which he had held fourteen consecutive years. He retired from public life, 
but did not live long to enjoy, in the bosom of his family, the quiet he so much coveted. 
He was seized with a malignant fever in August, 1785, and on tiie seventeenth of 
that month died, at the age of seventy-five years. 

* When, in 1774, it became evident to the Americans that war was inevitable, un- 
less they would consent to be slaves, they began to prepare for conflict. In Massa. 
chusetts, in particular, the republican leaders labored with great zeal to place the 
province in a condition to rise in open and united rebellion, when necessity should 
demand it. Governor Gage, in Boston, became alarmed, and commenced fortifying 
the Neck. The exasperated people began to collect munitions of war, and soon pub- 
lic affairs were like a sleeping volcano. 

In April, 1775, Gage iiad three thousand British troops in Boston, ready to sup- 
port the governor in any oppressive measure which he might choose to employ. Ho 
felt uneasy concerning some ammunition and stores which the republicans had 
gathered at Concord, sixteen miles from Boston, and on the night of the eighteenth 
of April, he sent out a secret expedition to destroy them. Vigilant patriots g.ave 
the alarm, and when the ministerial troops approached Lexington, a few miles from 
Concord, in the gray of early morning, they found seventy determined men standing 
upon the green, ready to oppose them. Pitcairn, the leader of the advanced corps, 
ordered them to lay down their arms and disperse. They stood firm. The British 
fired. A skirmish ensued, and several of the citizens were killed and wounded. The 
British then went on to Concord, had a fight with the Americans there, and finding 
the whole country rising, retreated to Boston, with great loss. 

t Israel Putnam was born in Salem, Massachusetts, on tlie seventh of January, 
1718, and at Pomfret, Connecticut, he cultivated land during many of the earlier years 
of his life. He was appointed to the command of some of the first troops raised in Con 
necticut for the French and Indian war in 1755, and during the whole of that long 
contest he was distinguisiied for bravery, in the wilds of northern New York. He 
distinguished himself at Bunker Hill, at the head of Connecticut troops in 1775, aud 



Washington's headquarters. 283 

One of the most urgent appeals for assistance that 
ever emanated from the American headquarters was con- 
tained in a despatch to the governor of Connecticut. It 
was dated from the camp, near the North river, in the 
latter years of the war.=^ 

Governor Trumbull was alone in his room of business ; 
on the table were various letters and despatches, some 

a few days afterward was appointed by the continental Congress one of the four 
major-generals of the grand army. He served his country faithfully until 1779, 
■when partial paralysis prostrated him. His mind preserved its elasticity until his 
death, which occurred at Brooklyn, Connecticut, on the twenty-ninth of May, 1790, 
at the age of seventy-two years. 

* This despatch was a circular letter, which was sent to the governors of each of 
the eastern states. It was dated at "New Windsor, 10th May, 1781." After 
stating that General Heath had consented to visit the New England states to " repre- 
sent the present distresses of the army for want of provision," &c., Washington said, 
" From the post at Saratoga to that of Dobb's ferry inclusive, I believe there is not 
(by the returns and report I have received) at this moment one day's supply of meat 
for the army on hand. Our whole dependence for this article is on the eastern 
states ; their resources, I am persuaded, are ample. To request and urge that they 
may be drawn forth regularly, and to be inforced with precision and certainty, what 
may absolutely be depended upon through the campaign, are the objects of this ap- 
plication. 

" I have already made representations to the states of the want of provisions, the 
distress of the arny, and the innumerable embarrassments we have suffered in con- 
sequence ; not merely once or twice, but have reiterated them over and over again. 
I have struggled to the utmost of my ability to keep the army together, but it will 
be in vain without the effectual assistance of the states. I have now only to repeat 
the alternative, which has been so often urged, that supplies, particularly of beef 
cattle, must be speedily and regularly provided, or our posts can not be maintained, 
nor the army kept in the field much longer. I entreat your excellency, that this 
representation may be received in the serious light it is meant and deserves, or that 
I may stand exculpated from the dreadful consequences, which must otherwise in- 
evitably follow in a very short time." 

A few days afterward, Washington held a conference with Eochambeau, at 
Weathersfield, in Connecticut, and from that place he wrote another urgent circular 
letter. In his Diary of the twentieth of May, he wrote : " Had a good deal of pri- 
vate conversation with Governor Trumbull, who gave it to me as his opinion, that if 
any important offensive operations should be undertaken, he had little doubt of our 
obtaining men and provisions adequate to our wants. In this opinion Cclonel 
Wadsworth and others concurred." 



284 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

just opened and others sealed for immediate transmission ; 
a cocked-hat, of the cut and fashion of the days of George 
n,, the governor's sole insignia of office, was also on the 
table, while the chief magistrate himself was busily en- 
gaged in writing. 

An aid-de-camp of the commander-in-chief was intro- 
duced, much worn and " travel stained" from the haste 
of his journey. The governor rose, and, while cordially 

welcoming Colonel , inquired after the health of his 

excellency, and what news from the army. The aid-de- 
camp replied that the general ^vas well, and the news 
from the army of a very sombre character, and presented 
a letter. The letter was very short. It contained an 
apology from Washington for having applied for assist- 
ance where it had been so often and so liberall}^ rendered 
before, but continued that the situation of the army was 
critical in the extreme, the i^ountry adjacent to the camp 
being completely exhausted, as well by the enemy's as 
by his own foraging parties ; and concluded by lamenting 
that, unless supplies could be speedily obtained, he should 
be obliged to abandon his position, and fall back into the 
interior to obtain the necessary subsistence for the troops. 

The governor pondered for a moment upon the con- 
tents of the letter, then rising, and cordially grasj)ing the 
colonel by the hand, observed, in a firm yet cheerful 
tone, "When you return to camp, bear with you, my 
dear sir, my love and duty to his excellency, and say to 
him that brave old Connecticut, patriotic Connecticut, is 
not quite exhausted, but for every barrel of provisions 
she has furnished to the cause of liberty, she will furnish 
another, and yet another, to the same glorious cause : say 
further, that on such a day our teams may be looked for 



Washington's headquarters. 285 

on the bank of the North river." The aid-de-camp de- 
parted rejoicing. 

And now the patriot became " every inch" the execu- 
tive officer. From his intimate acquaintance with the 
resources of his native state, he knew exactly where 
those resources were to be obtained, and their facihties 
for transportation, for with him everything was done by 
method and regularity. His orders flew in all directions. 
And his orders were obeyed. 

Meantime, the return of the aid-de-camp to head- 
quarters with intelligence of the promised supplies dif- 
fused a general gladness throughout the army. When 
the expected day arrived, many an anxious eye was 
turned to the road leading from the eastward to the 
landing on the North river.* A dust is seen in the dis- 
tance, and presently are heard the cries of the teamsters, 
urging their fine oxen, while the heavy-laden wains groan 
under their generous burdens. A shout rings through 
the American camp, and the commander-in-chief, attend- 
ed by his officers, ride to an eminence to witness the ar- 
rival of the welcome supplies. 

Governor Trumbull had two sons attached to the 
headquarters: John, the distinguished artist, and ihe 
last of the aids-de-camj),-f and Jonathan, military secre- 

* Fishkill landing, opposite Newburgh. 

t John Trumbull was born in Lebanon, Connecticut, in June, 1756. He com- 
menced his career as a painter at the age of eighteen years. He had been gradu- 
ated at Harvard college the previous year. His first historical composition, the 
Battle of Canna, was painted in 1774. At the breaking out of the Revolutionarv 
war he entered the army as adjutant of the first Connecticut regiment, and went to 
Roxbury, near Boston. Washington heard of his talent for drawing, and employed 
him to sketch a draught of the enemy's works. His success commended the young 
painter to Washington, and in August, the commander-in-chief appointed him his 
aid-de-camp. In 1776 he was in the northern department, under Gates. The fol- 
lowing year he left the army, and resumed his profession at Boston. He went first 



286 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

tarj to the commander-in-chief at the siege of York- 
town * 

Among the great variety of persons and character that 
were to be found from time to time at and about the 
headquarters, was the famed Captain Molly, already 
mentioned in the chapter on the Battle of Monmouth. 
After her heroic achievements at the battle of Mon- 
mouth, the heroine was always received with a cordial 
welcome at headquarters, where she was emj)loyed in 
the duties of the household. She always wore an ar- 
tilleryman's coat, with the cocked-hat and feather, the 
distinguishing costume of Proctor's artillery. One day 
the chief accosted this remarkable woman, while she was 
engaged in washing some clothes, pleasantly observing : 
" Well, Captain Molly, are you not almost tired of this 
quiet way of life, and longing to be once more on the 
field of battle?" — "Troth, your excellency," replied the 
heroine, " and ye may say that ; for I care not how soon 

to Paris, and then to London, in 1780, and in the latter city placed himself under 
the instruction of Benjamin West. The political sins of his father were visited 
upon his head. On suspicion of his being a secret rebel agent, he was im- 
prisoned eight months, and then banished from the kingdom, West and Copley 
becoming his securities. He returned home in January, 1782, and formed a 
connection with the army, as aid to the chief. At the close of the war he 
again went to England, where he pursued his profession with zeal for seve- 
ral years. Finally he contemplated a series of pictures illustrative of American 
history. He arrived in New York in 1789, and was favored witli sittings by Wash- 
ington and other distinguished men of the Revolution. Having collected much ma- 
terial, he again went to England, as private secretary to Mr. Jay, the American em- 
bassador. He returned to America in 1804, but did not remain long. He lived in 
England until the close of the war of 1812-'15, and then came home. He was en- 
gaged to paint four large pictures for the rotunda of the new federal capitol. These 
pictures occupied him seven years, and are, Sig7iers of the Declaration o/ Independence, 
the Surrender of Burgoyne, the Surrender at Yorktown, and Washimjton resigning his 
Commission. He died in the city of New York on the tenth of November, 1843, in 
the eighty-eighth year of his age. 
* See note on page 174. 



I 



Washington's headquarters. 287 

I have another slap at them red-coats, bad luck to them." 
" But what is to become of your petticoats in such an 
event, Captain Molly?" — "Oh, long life to your excel- 
lency, and never de ye mind them at all at all," continued 
this intrepid female. " Sure and it is only in the artillery 
your excellency knows that I would sarve, and divil a 
fear but the smoke of the cannon will hide my petti- 
coats." 

The name and memory of headquarters expired not 
"with the war of the Eevolution, but was j^i'oserved in the 
Presidoliads of New York and Philadelphia,'-' where hun- 
dreds of the war-worn veterans of the days of trial re- 
paired, as they said, to headquarters^ to pay their respects, 
and inquire after the health of his excellency and the 
good Lady Washington. All were made welcome and 
" kindly bid to stay j" and while they quaffed a generous 
glass to the health of their beloved chief, the triumphs 
of Trenton and Princeton, of Monmouth and Yorktown, 
" were freshly remembered." 

And poor Pat, too, reverently with hat in hand, would 
approach the headquarters. " To be sure, he would say, 
that he well knew his excellency had no time to spare 
to the likes of him. He just called to inquire after his 
honor's health, long life to him., and the good Lady 
Washington, the poor soldier's friend." But, taking the 
steward aside, with a knowing look, would observe : 
" Now, my darlint, if his excellency should happen to in- 

* The federal Congress held its first session, under the present constitution, in the 
city of New York, where Washington was inaugurated president of the United States, 
on the thirtieth of April, 1789. The seat of government was removed to Pliiladel- 
phia in 1790, the Congress assembling there on the first Monday in December of that 
year. That city continued to be the seat of government until the year 1800, when 
the Congress assembled for tlie first time in the city of Washington. 



288 RECOLLECTIONS OF AVASHINGTDN. 

quire wlio it was that oallecl, just tell him it was one of 
ould Mad Anthony's boys. Hurrah for Ameriky !" And 
repeating the shout that so often had lang above the 
battle's roar, the veteran would go on his way rejoicing. 
It may be, in the course of human events, that upon 
the places at Morristown and the Valley Forge, where 
the soldier of liberty erected his cheerless hut, the domes 
and spires of cities may arise in the splendid progress of 
a mighty empire, but the patriotic American of that 
future day, proud of the fame of the Father of his Country, 
and glorying in the recollections of America's heroic time, 
will pass by the palaces of pomp and power, to pay hom- 
age to the mouldering ruins of the headquarters.* 

* There are several other buildings, besides those already mentioned, yet standing, 
that were used as headquarters by Washington. The best preserved of them ara 
located as follows : near Chad's ford on the Brandywine, and at White Marsh, four* 
teen miles from Philadelphia, in Pennsylvania ; the Hopper house, four miles south 
of the Ramapo Pass, an old mansion at Rocky Hill, where his farewell address 
to the army was written, in New Jersey ; at Tappan, in Rockland county, Quaker 
Hill, in Duchess county, near White Plains, and at Dobb's ferry, in Westchester 
county; and at No. I Broadway, and Madam Jumel's mansion near Fort Wash- 
ington, on York or Manhattan island, in the state of New York. 



ft 



MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION. 289 



CHAPTER X. 

MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION * 

The American Camp in New Jersey — A Night Scene — Appearance of a Stranger — 
A Clergyman seeks an Interview with Washington — His Admission to the Presenck 
OP THE Chief — "Washington Warned concerning General Charles Lee — Doctor 
Griffith — Conduct op General Lee at Mommouth — Eivington and Secret Service — 
The Quaker Loan — Eivington Faithful — Solution of the Mystery — Washington 
AND Eivington — Secret Interview — Eivington's Manners — Amount of Secret Ser- 
vice Money used — Its Value to the Country. 

It was Saturday night, the twenty-seventh of June, 
1778; when the American army, after a toilsome march 
in a tropical heat, halted for rest and refreshment in the 
county of Monmouth, New Jersey .f The weary soldiers 
were gathered in groups, some preparing the evening 
meal, while others, exhausted by their march, threw 
themselves on the ground to seek repose. The short 
night of June was waning, the watch-fires burned dimly, 
and silence reigned around. Not so at headquarters.^ 
There lights were seen, while the chief, seated at a table, 
wrote or dictated despatches, which were folded and 
directed by aid-de-camp and secretaries, while near at 
hand were expresses, seated like statues upon their 
drowsy horses, awaiting orders; and ever and anon an 
officer would approach them with the words, " This for 

! * Published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty-second of February, 1855. 
t See note on page 211. 

X The American army was encamped that night upon the Manatapan creek, be- 
tween Cranberry and Englishtown, a few miles from Monmouth courthouse. 

19 



290 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Major-General ; ride with speed and spare not the 

spur;" and in a moment the horseman would disappear 
in the surrounding gloom. Suddenly a stranger appeared 
on the scene. He wore no martial costume, neither had 
he the measured tread of the soldier ; in truth his appear- 
ance was anything but militaire. On being challenged 
by the sentinel, he answered, " Doctor Griffith, chaplain 
and surgeon in the Virginia line, on business highly im- 
portant with the commander-in-chief." The cry of " Of- 
ficer of the guard !" brought forth that functionary, so 
necessary a personage in a night carnp.'^ The officer 
shook his head, and waving his hand said, " No, sir, no ; 
impossible ; intensely engaged ; my orders positive ; can't 
be seen on any account." The reverend gentleman 
quailed not, but said to the officer who barred his pas- 
sage, " Present, sir, my humble duty to his excellency, 
and say that Doctor Griffith waits upon him with secret 
and important intelligence, and craves an audience of 
only five minutes' duration." 

The high respect in which the clergy of the American 
army was held by Washington was known to every officer 
and soldier in its ranks. This, together with the impos- 
ing nature of the chaplain's visit, induced the officer of 
the guard to enter the headquarters and report the cir- 
cumstance to the general. He, quickly returning, ushered 
the chaplain into the presence of the commander-in-chief 

Washington, still with pen in hand, received his mid- 
night visiter courteously, when Griffith observed ; " The 
nature of the communication I am about to make to 
your excellency must be my apology for disturbing you 
at this hour of the night. While I am not permitted to 

* Officer of the Life-Guard. 



MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION. 291 

divulge the names of the authorities from whom I have 
obtained my information, I can assure you they are of 
the very first order, whether in point of character or 
attachment to the cause of American independence. I 
have sought this interview to warn your excellency 
against the conduct of Major-General Lee in to-morrow's 
battle. My duty is fulfilled, and I go now to pray to the 
God of battles for success to our arms, and that he may 
always have your excellency in his holy keeping." The 
chaplain retired, the ofiicer of the guard (by signal from 
the chief) accompanying the reverend gentleman to the 
line of the sentinels. Doctor Griffith survived the war 
and became rector of a parish in which "Washington wor- 
shipped. He was elected first bishop of Virginia under 
the new regime, but was never consecrated. He sickened 
and died in Philadelphia, in 1789. He was a ripe scholar, 
a pious minister, and an ardent enthusiast in the cause of 
American independence.* 



* Reverend David Griffith was a native of the city of New York, and was eda 
cated partly there and partly in England, for the medical profession. He took 
his degrees in London, returned to America, and entered upon the duties of his pro- 
fession in the interior of New York, about the year 1763. Having resolved to 
enter the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal church, he went to London in the 
year 1770, and there, on the nineteenth of August, was ordained by Bishop Terrick. 
1 He was a missionary in West Jersey for a while, and at the close of 1771, became 
rector of Shelburne parish, in Loudon county, Virginia. In 1776 he entered the 
military service as chaplain to the third Virginia regiment, and continued in that 
I position until some time in the year 1780, when he became rector of Christ church, 
\ Alexandria. There he remained until his death, in 1789. During a large portion 

Iof that time Washington was his parishoner, and Doctor Griffith frequently visited 
Mount Vernon as a welcome guest. He was chosen bishop of Virginia in 1786, 
but such was the depressed state of the church in that diocese, that funds sufficient 
li to defray his expenses to London, to receive consecration, could not be raised. He 
jl resigned all claims to the office in May, 1789, and while attending the general con- 
I vention of the church at Philadelphia, a few weeks later, died at the house of Bishop 
i White. 



292 KECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. . 

When the warning became known in the army it 
created many conjectures as to the sources from whence 
the chapLain acquired his information. Nothing ever 
transpired, and the secret died, while the mystery re- 
mains to the present time.'-' 

The conduct of General Lee in the battle of Mon^ 
mouth very fairly justified the warning of the chaplain. 
It is certain that that brave and skilful commander had 
no leaning toward the enemy, but it is thought that he 
expected, by throwing things into confusion, to lessen 
the merits of Washington in the public estimation, for 
he aspired to be the commander of the army.j- 

* The author of these Recollections received the foregoing account of the warning 
given to Washington by Doctor Griffith, from Colonel Nicholas, of Virginia, who 
was an officer of the Life-Guard at that time. 

t The chanty for Lee expressed by the author of these Recollections is not justified 
bv recent revelations. Lee undoubtedly entertained treasonable designs at that 
moment. That he had held treasonable intercourse with the enemy previous to this 
time, his own handwriting bears testimony. That proof is in the form of a manu- 
script of eight foolscap pages, in Lee's own peculiar handwriting, prepared while he 
was a prisoner in New York, and dated the twenty-ninth day of March, 1777, in 
which he submits to Lord and Sir William Howe, a plan for the easy subjugation of 
the colonies. It is endorsed in the known handwriting of Lord Howe's secretary— 
"Plan of Mr. Lee, 1777." In it Lee professed to desire a cessation of bloodshed, 
as he considered the issue doubtful. His plan was to dissolve the system of resist- 
ance which centered in the government of Congress. He regarded that system as 
depending chiefly upon the people of Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Virginia; and 
his plan looked to the reduction or submission of Maryland, and the preventing 
Virginia from furnishing aid to the army then in New Jersey, and thus to dissolve 
the whole machinery of resistance. He proposed an expedition against New Eng- 
land, so as to keep the inhabitants there at home, and make it an easy matter to 
hold possession of New York and the Jerseys. He suggested that, simultaneously 
with this movement eastward, a considerable force should be sent up the Chesapeake 
bav-, to land at and take possession of Annapolis, and march into the interior of 
Maryland as far as Queen Anne. Another was to be despatched up the Potomac, 
aud take possession of Alexandria, when the two invading armies might form a 
junction ; while a third should ascend the Delaware and capture Philadelphia. The 
middle states would now be in subjection, and New England and the southern states 
■would be too wide apart to act in efficient concert. These things accomplished, 



MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION. 293 

The interview between Washington and Lee, and the 
chivalric enthusiasm of Colonel Hamilton on that occa- 
sion, have been already described in our account of that 
battle. 

Of all the mysteries that occurred in the American 
Eevolution, the employment of Rivington, editor of the 
Royal Gazette, in the secret service of the American 
commander is the most astounding.^^' 

and the system of resistance dismembered, all that would be necessary, to insure a 
complete subjugation of the revolted states to the crown, would be the issuing of 
proclamations of pardon to all who should desert tlie republican standard, and return 
to their allegiance to King George. 

With such evidence of his treason, it is easy to interpret much in the conduct of 
Lee which has puzzled the historian and the student of our history. By the light of 
this evidence we may easily explain his conduct after the fall of Fort Washington, 
in the Autumn of 1776, until his disgraceful retreat on the field of Monmouth — his 
tardy movements in New Jersey, when earnestly appealed to by Washington ; his 
repeated disobedience of orders ; his capture by a small party of British light-horse 
in New Jersey ; his provision with a suit of rooms in the City hall. New York, 
while a prisoner, and his great intimacy with tlie British officers there; his refusal 
at first to take the required oath of allegiance at Valley Forge ; his intimations of 
the intended movements of the enemy (according to the suggestions of his plan), 
when they were about to evacuate Philadelphia; his opposition to any attack on Sir 
Henry Clinton ; and his conduct on the field of Monmouth. The document con- 
taining the evidences of his treason was discovered at the close of 1857, among 
some papers said to have been brought from Nova Scotia, and offered for sale in 
New York. I first perused it on the second of January, 1858. It soon afterward 
became the possession of Professor George H. Moore, librarian of the New York 
Historical Society ; and this, and other circumstantial evidences of Lee's treason, 
were first made known to the world by that gentleman in a paper read by him before 
that society in June following. 

* James Rivington was a native of London, well educated, and of pleasing deport- 
ment. He came to America in the year 1760, and established a bookstore in Phila- 
I delphia. The following year he opened one near the foot of Wall street, in New 
York, where he established a paper called the Royal Gazetteer, in 1773. It was after- 
I wards entitled the Royal Gazette. He took the ministerial side in politics when the 
( Revolution broke out, and became very obnoxious to the republicans, whom he 
' abused without stint. In the autumn of 1775, a company of Connecticut light-horse, 
I led by Captain Isaa? Sears of New York, entered the city at noonday, proceeded to 
I Rivington's printing establishment, placed a guard with fixed bayonets ai'ound it, 
ji put all his types into bags, destroyed his press and other apparatus, and then in the 



294 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The time that this remarkable connection took place 
is of course unknown. There is much probability that it 
may have commenced as early as the closing of the 
campaign of 1776, as it is known that about that period 
Kobert Morris borrowed of a Quaker five hundred guineas 
in gold for the secret service of Washington's army, and 
that intelligence of vital and vast importance was obtained 
from the disbursement of the QiiaJcer loan. 

The worthy Quaker said to Morris : " How can I, 
friend Robert, who am a man of peace, lend thee money 
for the purposes of war ? Friend George is, I believe, a 
good man and fighting in a good cause ; but I am op 
posed to fighting of any sort." Morris, however, soon 
managed to quiet old broadbrim's scruples : the gold was f I 
dug up from his garden and handed over to the com- 
mander-in-chief, whose application of it to the secret ser- 
vice produced the happiest effects upon the cause of the 
Revolution in that critical j)eriod of our destiny.* 

same order, clieered by the shouts of the pleased populace, and the tune of Yankee 
Doodle, left the city. Rivington then went to England. When, the following year, 
the British took possession of New York, Rivington returned. In October, 1777, he 
was appointed "king's printer" in that city, and resumed the publication of his 
paper, semi-weekly. After the war, his business declined, and he lived in corapara- I 
tive poverty until July 1802, when he died, at the age of seventy-eight years. A 
portrait of Rivington, from a painting by Stuart, may be found in Lossing's Field- 
Book of the Revolution. 

* " This story," says the author of these Recollections, in a note, " was no mystery 
in Philadelphia sixty-five years ago, when the man of peace was then living, per- 
fectly well known and deservedly esteemed, and enjoying the peace, liberty, and hap- 
piness which his gold had contributed to accomplish for his native land." 

Another transaction of a similar character, but on a larger scale, is related upon 
good authority. After the capture of the Hessians at Trenton, and disposition ot 
them in Pennsylvania, Washington resolved to recross the Delaware and occupy the 
lield of his conquest. But the term of enlistment of many of his troops was about 
to expire. To retain them he offered a bounty, to be paid in specie, and he applied 
to Robert Morris for the metal, the credit of Congress being too low at that time to 
offer it as security to the lender. Morris received the application just at evening. 



MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION. 295 

Rivington proved faithful to his bargain, and often 
would intelligence of great importance, gleaned in con- 
vivial moments at Sir William's, or Sir Henry's table/^' be 
in the American camp before the convivialists had slept 
off the effects of their wine. 

The business of the secret service was so well man- 
aged that even a suspicion never arose as to the medium 
through which intelligence of vast importance was con- 
tinually being received in the American camp from the 
very headquarters of the British army; and, had sus- 
picion arose, the king's printer would probably have 
been the last man suspected, for during the whole of his 
connection with the secret service his Royal Gazette 
literally piled abuse of every sort upon the American 
general and the cause of America.^ 

He knew not where to apply for the money, and with a desponding spirit he left his 
counting-room late in the evening, musing upon the subject. He met a wealthy 
Quaker neighbor, and made known to him his wants. " Robert," he said, " what 
security canst thou give?" — "My note and my honor," replied Morris. "Thou 
shalt have it," was the quick response ; and a few hours later, Morris wrote to 
Washington : "I was up early this morning to despatch a supply of fifty thousand 
dollars to your excellency. It gives me pleasure that you have engaged the troops 
to continue ; and, if further occasional supplies of money are necessary, you may 
depend on my exertions, either in a public or private capacity." Thus strengthened, 
Washington turned his face toward the enemy. 

The Quakers, as advocates of peace, were opposed to the war, and were among 

the most determined loyalists throughout the Revolution. And that loyalty to the 

king was not always passive, but with glaring inconsistency with their professions, 

some of them, in Philadelphia, aided the British troops in their efforts to crush the 

I rebellion, so called. To such an extent did they exert an influence against the 

\ patriots, that Congress thought it advisable to recommend the several states to keep 

I a watch upon their movements. Several leading Quakers were banished from Phila- 

j delphia in 1777; and in November, 1778, John Roberts and Abraham Carlisle, 

I Quakers, who were found guilty of affording secret aid to the enemy, were hanged. 

\ * Sir William Howe and Sir Henry Clinton. 

I t Never was an editor more unscrupulous in defaming his opponents, than Riving 

( ton. He paid no regard to truth or decency, but belabored the whigs with all his 

might. He was most cordially hated by the republicans, and their writers even 



296 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

In 1783 this remarkable mystery was solved. When 
Washington entered New York a conqueror, on the eva- 
cuation by the British forces,* he said one morning to 
two of his officers : " Suppose, gentlemen, we walk down 
to Kivington's bookstore ; he is said to be a very pleas- 
ant kind of a fellow." Amazed, as the officers were, at 
the idea of visiting such a man, they of course prepared 
to accompany the chief When arrived at the bookstore, f 
Rivington received his visiters with great politeness ; for 
he was indeed one of the most elegant gentlemen and 
best bred men of the age. Escorting the party into a 

after the war, never spared him when an opportunity offered to lash him. Philip 
Preneau, one of the bards of the Revolution, gave him many a hard hit. In a poem 
entitled Rivington's Reflections, he thus referred to the editor' s mendacity when 
making him say, at the close of the war : — 

" For what have I done when we come to consider, 
But sold my commodities to the best bidder? 
If I offered to lie for the sake of a post, 
Was I to be blamed if the king offered most ? 
The king's royal printer ! — Five hundred a-year ! 
Between you and me 'twas a handsome affair : 
Who would not for that give matters a stretch, 
And lie backward and forward, and carry and fetch." 

* A preliminary treaty of peace between the United States and Great Britain, 
was signed at Paris on the thirtieth of November, 1782, and a definitive treaty was 
signed at the same place by American and English commissioners, on the third of 
September, 1783. In that treaty, England acknowledged the independence of the 
United States. By previous arrangement, the British army, which had occupied 
New York seven years, was to leave it on the twenty -fifth of November, 1 783. On 
the morning of that day — a cold, frosty, but clear and brilliant morning — the Amer- 
ican troops, under General Knox, who had come down from West Point, and en- 
camped at Harlem, marched to the Bowery lane, and halted at the junction of the 
present Third avenue and Bowery. Knox was accompanied by George Clinton, 
the governor of the State of New York, with all the principal civil officers. There 
they remained until about one o'clock in the afternoon, when the British left their 
posts and marched to Whitehall (near the South ferry to Brooklyn) to embark. 
The American troops, accompanied by Washington, followed, and before three 
o'clock General Knox took formal possession of Fort George, amid the acclamations 
of thousands of emancipated freemen, and the roar of artillery upon the Battery. 



MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION. 297 

parlor, lie begged the officers to be seated, and then said 
to the chief, " Will your excellency do me the honor to 
step into the adjoining room for a moment that I may 
show yon a list of the agricultural works I am about to 
order out from London for your special use?" They 
retired. The locks on the doors of the houses in New 
York more than threescore years ago were not so good 
as now. The door of Rivington's private room closed 
very imperfectly and soon became ajar, when the officers 
distinctly heard the chinking of two heavy purses of 
gold as they were successively placed on a table.* 

The party soon returned from the inner-room, when 
Rivington pressed upon his guests a glass of Madeira, 
which he assured them was a prime article, having im- 
ported it himself, and it having received the approbation 
of Sir Henry and the most distinguished hon vivants of 
the British army.f 

* Rivington's method of conveying intelligence to. Washington was ingenious. 
He published books of various kinds, and by means of these he carried on his 
treasonable correspondence. He wrote his secret billets upon thin paper, and bound 
them in the cover of a book, which he always managed to sell to those spies of Wash- 
ington, who were constantly visiting New York, and who, he knew, would carry the 
volumes directly to the headquarters of the army. The men employed in this spe- 
cial service were ignorant of the peculiar nature of it. 

t Rivington was a high liver when his pecuniary means would allow him the in- 
dulgence. He was a fine-looking, portly man, and dressed in the extreme of fashion 
— curled and powdered hair, claret-colored coat, scarlet waistcoat trimmed with gold 
lace, buckskin breeches, and top-boots. He always kept a stock of choice wines on 
hand, with which to regale his friends. A good anecdote connected with his wine 
was related by Rivington himself. He had soundly abused Colonel Ethan Allen, 
while he was a prisoner, and the leader of the Green-Mountain Boys swore he would 
" lick Rivington the first opportunity he had." When Allen was released from the 
provost jail, he went directly toward Rivington's office to execute his oath. Rivino-- 
ton's clerk saw him coming, and went up stairs to warn his master, the loyal editor 
having already been informed of the irate colonel's intentions. " I was sitting," said 
Rivington, " after a good dinner, alone, with 'ay bottle of Madeira before me, when 
I heard an unusual noise in the street, and a huzza from the boys. I was in the 



298 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The visiters now rose to depart, Eivington, on ta- 
king leave of the chief, whom he escorted to the door, 
said : " Your excellency may rely upon my especial at- 
tention being given to the agricultural worlcs, which, on 
their arrival, will be immediately forwarded to Mount 
Yernon, where I trust they will contribute to your grati- 
fication amid the shades of domestic retirement." Eiv- 
ington remained for several years in New York after the 
peace of 1783. It was the general opinion at that time, 
that if Rivington had been closely j)i"essed on the. deli- 
cate subject of the secret service, characters of greater 
calibre might have appeared on the tapis tlian the king's 
printer.* 

second story, and, stepping to the window, saw a tall figure in tarnished regimentals 
with a large cocked hat and an enormous long sword, followed by a crowd of boys, 
who occasionally cheered him with huzzas, of which he seemed insensible. He came 
up to my door and stopped. I could see no more. My heart told me it was Ethan 
Allen. I shut down my window, and retired behind my table and bottle. I was 
certain the hour of reckoning had come. There was no retreat. Mr. Staples, my 
clerk, came in paler than ever, and clasping his hands, said, ' Master, he is come !' 
' I know it.' ' He entered the store, and asked " if James Rivington lived there." 
I answered, " Yes, sir." " Is he at home V " I will go and see, sir," I said ; ' and 
now, master, wliat is to be done ? There he is in the store, and the boys peeping at 
him from the street.' I had made up my mind. I looked at the bottle of Madeira— 
possibly took a glass. ' Show him up,' said I; 'and if such Madeira can not mol- 
lify him, he must be harder than adamant.' There was a fearful moment of sus- 
pense. I heard him on the stairs, his loiig sword clanking at every step. In he 
stalked. ' Is your name James Rivington ?' ' It is, sir, and no man could be more 
happy than I am to see Colonel Ethan Allen.' ' Sir, I have come — ' ' Not an- 
other word, my dear colonel, until you have taken a seat and a glass of old Madeira.' 
'But sir, I don't think it proper — ' ' Not another word, colonel. Taste this wine; 
I have had it in glass for ten years. Old wine, you know, unless it is originally 
sound, never improves by age.' He took the glass, swallowed the wine, smacked 
his lips, and shook his head approvingly. ' Sir, I come — ' ' Not another word 
until you have taken another glass, and then, my dear colonel, we will talk of old 
aflfairs, and I have some droll events to detail.' In short, we finished two bottles of 
Madeira, and parted as good friends as if we never had cause to be otherwise." 

* When the loyalists of New York fled to Nova Scotia, on the evacuation of the 
city by the British, Rivington, to the astonishment of all, remained. This fact 



MYSTERIES OF THE REVOLUTION. 299 

When the famous Rivington espionage became known 
there were many speculations as to the amount paid for 
the secret service. Some went so far as to calculate 
how many guineas the capacious pockets of an officers 
coat made in the old fashion would contain. The general 
result was that, including the quaker's loan and pay 
ments made up to the final payment in full, made by the 
chief in person, from a thousand to fifteen hundred 
guineas would be a pretty fair estimate. 

It was a cheap, a dog cheap bargain ; for, although 
gold was precious in the days of the continental currency, 
yet the gold paid for the secret service was of inestim- 
able value, when it is remembered how much it contri- 
buted to the safety and success of the army of indepen- 
dence. 

puzzled those unacquainted with his career during the war. Others, not a tenth 
part as obnoxious to the republicans as he, were driven away. In his secret treason. 
I is the solution of the mystery. The facts above related are given by the author of, 
I these Recollections, he says, " on the authority of General Henry Lee, who had them 
) from one of the officers who accompanied Washington in his visit to Rivington." 
I I received substantially the same facts, a few years ago, from the late Senator Hun- 
ter, of Hunter's island, Westchester county. New York, who heard them from the 
lips of a British admiral. 



300 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XI. 

THE INDLVN PROPHECY.* 

■Washington's Joueney to the Kanawha Eiver in 1770 — Forms a Camp on its Banks- 
Abundance OF Game there — Visited by a Trader and a Party of Indians — First In- 
terview with them — The Indian Sachem's Mission — His great Reverence for Colonel 
"Washington — Speech of the Indian Sachem — His Remarkable Prophecy — Its Effect 
UPON THE Company — Departure of the Savages — Doctor James Craik — His Faith ik: 
the Prophecy — Scene at the Battle of Monmouth — Colonel Thomas Hartley. ♦ 

It was in 1770, that Colonel Washington, accompanied 
by Doctor James Craik, and a considerable party of 
hunters, woodsmen, and others, proceeded to the Kan- 
awha with a view to explore the country, and make sur- 
veys of extensive and valuable bodies of lands.-|- At that 

* This was first published in the Philadelphia United States Gazette, on tha 
twenty-seventh of May, 1826. 

t The officers and soldiers who accompanied Washington in the expedition against 
the French, on the Ohio, in 1754, were promised grants of land in the fertile regions 
of the great Kanawha, where it empties into the Ohio. These lands were formally 
granted that year, by an order in council of the British government, and a proclama- 
tion by Governor Dinwiddie, but on account of the continuance of a state of war, 
they were not located, and actual possession given, until many years afterward. In 
1770 a company in London solicited a grant of land within the proposed boundaries 
of which nearly all of the promised bounty land lay. Washington at once took the 
matter in hand, as the champion of the soldier about to be wronged. He first laid 
before Governor Botetourt a history of the claim, and entered a strong protest against 
the proposed grant to the English company, at the head of whom was the celebrated 
Horace Walpole. He was successful in his defence of the soldier's rights, and that 
nothing essential to their interests should be left undone, he resolved to visit the 
region under consideration, and select the best tracts of land for himself and his 
companions-in-arms ; and on the fifth of October, 1770, accompanied by his friend 
and neighbor, Doctor Craik, with three negro attendants, he left Mount Vernon for 
the Ohio. His Diary, kept during this journey to the wilderness and back, which , 



THE INDL\N PROPHECY. 301 

time of day, the KanaAvlia was several hundred miles re- 
mote from the frontier settlements, and only accessible 
by Indian paths, which wound through the passes of the 
mountains. 

In those wild and unfrequented regions, the party 
formed a camp on the bank of the river, consisting of 
rudely-constructed wigwams or shelters, from which they 
issued to explore and survey those alluvial tracts, now 
forming the most fertile and best inhabited parts of the 
west of Virginia.* 

This romantic camp, though far removed from the 
homes of civilization, possessed very many advantages. 
The great abundance of various kinds of game, in its 
vicinity, afforded a sumptuous larder, while a few luxuries 
of foreign growth, which had been brought on the bag- 
gage horses, made the adventurers as comfortable as they 
could reasonably desire.f 

One day when resting in camp from the fatigues at« 
tendant on so arduous an enterprise, a party of Indiana 
led by a trader, were discovered. No recourse was had 
to arms, for peace in great measure reigned on the fron- 
tier; the border warfare which so long had harassed the 
unhappy settlers, had principally subsided, and the savage 
driven farther and farther back, as the settlements ad- 
vanced, had sufficiently felt the power of the whites, to 
view them with fear, as well as hate. Again, the approach 

occupied "nine weeks and one day," is printed entire in the appendix to the second 
volume of Spark's Life and Writings of Washington. 

* These lands lay in the present counties of Kanawha, Jackson, Mason, and 
Cabel. 

t Washington in his Diary, thus refers to one of his horses : " My portmanteau 
horse being unable to proceed, I left him at ray brother's [Samuel, on Worthington's 
marsh, over the Blue Ridge], and got one of his and proceeded to Samuel Pritchard's, 
on Cacapehon." 



302 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

of this party was anything but hostile, and the appear- 
ance of the trader, a being half savage, half civilized, 
made it certain that the mission was rather of peace 
than war. 

They halted at a short distance, and the interpreter 
advancing, declared that he was conducting a party, 
which consisted of a grand sachem, and some attendant 
warriors ; that the chief was a very great man among 
the northwestern tribes, and the same who commanded 
the Indians on the fall of Braddock, sixteen years before,* 
that hearing of the visit of Colonel Washington to the 
western country, this chief had set out on a mission, the 
object of which himself would make known.f 

The colonel received the embassador with courtesy, 
and having put matters in camp in the best possible order 
for the reception of such distinguished visiters, which so 
short a notice would allow, the strangers were introduced. 
Among the colonists were some fine, tall, and manly 
figures, but so soon as the sachem approached, he in a 
moment pointed out the hero of the Monongahela, from 
among the group, although sixteen years had elapsed 
since he had seen him, and then only in the tumult and 
fury of battle. The Indian was of a lofty stature, and of 
a dignified and imposing appearance. 

* See note on page 158. 

t On the way, Washington and Doctor Craik were joined by several frontier men, 
among them Joseph Nicholson, an interpreter. Under date of October 20, he re- 
corded in his Diary : " We embarked in a large canoe, with a sufficient store of pro- 
visions and necessaries, and the following persons, besides Dr. Craik and myself, 
to wit, Captain Crawford, Joseph Nicholson, Robert Bell, William Harrison, Charles 
Morgan, and Daniel Rendon, a boy of Captain Crawford's, and the Indians, who 
were in a canoe by themselves." Captain Crawford afterward suffered a horrible 
death at the hands of the Shawnees, in Ohio. At Fort Pitt they were joined by 
*' Colonel CraghaiL Lieutenant Hamilton, and Mr. Magee." 



THE INDIAN PROPHECY. 303 

The usual salutations were going round, when it was 
observed, that the grand chief, although perfectly fami- 
liar with every other person present, preserved toward 
Colonel Washington the most reverential deference. It 
w^as in vain that the colonel extended his hand, the Indian 
drew back, with the most impressive marks of awe and re- 
spect. A last effort was made to induce an intercourse, by 
resorting to the delight of the savages — ardent spirit — 
which the colonel having tasted, offered to his guest ; the 
Indian bowed his head in submission, but wetted not his 
lips. Tobacco, for the use of which Washington always 
had the utmost abhorrence, was next tried, the colonel 
taking a single puff to the great annoyance of his feel- 
ings, and then offering the calumet to the chief, who 
touched not the symbol of savage friendship. The banquet 
being now ready, the colonel did the honors of the feast, 
and placing the great man at his side, helped him plenti- 
fuU}^, but the Indian fed not at the board. Amazement 
now possessed the company, and an intense anxiety be- 
came apparent, as to the issue of so extraordinary an 
adventure. The council fire was kindled, when the 
grand sachem addressed our Washington to the follow- 
ing effect : — * 

" I am a chief, and the ruler over many tribes. My in- 
fluence extends to the waters of the great lakes, and to 
to the far blue mountains. I have travelled a long and 
weary path, that I might see the young warrior of the 
great battle. It was on the day, when the white 
man's blood, mixed with the streams of our forest, that I 
first beheld this chief: I called to my young men and 
said, mark yon tall and daring warrior ? He is not of the 

* He addressed Washington, through Nicholson, the interpreter. 



304 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

red-coat tribe — lie hath an Indian's wisdom, and his war- 
riors fight as we do — himself is alone exposed.' Quick, 
let your aim be certain, and he dies. Our rifles were 
levelled, rifles which, but for him, knew not how to 
miss — 'twas all in vain, a power mightier far than we, 
shielded him from harm. He can not die in battle. I 
am old, and soon shall be gathered to the great council- 
fire of my fathers, in the land of shades, but ere I go, 
there is a something, bids me speak, in the voice of | 
prophecy. Listen ! The Great Spirit protects that man, 
and guides his destinies — he ivill become the chief of nations, , 
and a people yet unborn, will hail him as the founder of a\\ 
mighty empire .'"* 

The savage ceased, his oracle delivered, his prophetic 
mission fulfilled, he retired to muse in silence, upon that 
wonder-working Spirit, which his dark 

" Untutored mind 
Saw oft in clouds, and heard Him in the wind." 

Night coming on, the children of the forest spread 

* This narrative the author of the Recollections received from the lips of Dr. Craiij. 
Washington does ' not mention the circumstance in his Diary. It was a peculiar 
trait of his character to avoid everything, either in speech or writing, that had a per- 
sonal relation to himself, in this manner. In his Diary he mentions a visit from an 
embassy of the Six Nations, led by White Mingo, who made a speech. But that oc- 
curred on the nineteenth of the month ; while the incident that forms the subject of 
this chapter, did not occur until they had reached the mouth of the Kanawha, after 
the thirty-first. 

The Reverend Samuel Davies, a Presbyterian minister at Hanover, in Virginia, 
during the earlier portions of the French and Indian war (and in 1759, was president 
of the college at Princeton), preached several patriotic discourses after the defeat of 
Braddock, to arouse his countrymen to action. In one of these, entitled " Religion 
and Patriotism the constituents of a good Soldier," he remarked, in allusion to the 
remarkable preservation of Washington on the bloody field of Monongahela, " I can 
not but hope Providence has hitherto preserved him in so signal a manner, for some 
important service to his country." It is an interesting fact, that Washington never 
received the slightest wound in battle. 



THE INDIAN PEOPHECY. 305 

their blankets, and were soon buried in sleep. At early 
dawn they bid adieu to the camp, and were seen slowly 
winding their way toward the distant haunts of their 
tribe. 

The effects which this mysterious and romantic ad- 
venture had upon the provincials, were as various as the 
variety of character which composed the party. All 
eyes were turned on him, to whom the oracle had been 
addressed, but from his ever-serene and thoughtful coun- 
tenance, nothing could be discovered : still all this was 
strange, " 'twas passive strange." On the mind of Doctor 
James Craik, a most deep and lasting impression was 
made, and in the war of the Revolution it became a 
favorite theme with him, particularly after any perilous 
action, in which his friend and commander had been 
peculiarly exposed, as the battles of Princeton, German- 
town, and Monmouth. On the latter occasion, as we 
have elsewhere observed,* Doctor Craik expressed his 
great faith in the Indian's prophecy. " Gentlemen," he 
said, to some of the officers, " recollect what I have often 
told you, of the old Indian's prophecy. Yes, I do believe, 
a Great Spirit protects that man — and that one day or 
other, honored and beloved, he will be the chief of our 
nation, as he is now our general, our father, and our 
friend. Never mind the enemy, they can not kill him, 
and while he lives, our cause will never die." 

During the engagement on the following day, while 
Washington was speaking to a favorite officer, I think 
the brave and valued Colonel Hartley, of the Pennsyl- 
vania line, a cannon ball struck just at his horse's feet, 
throwing the dirt in his face, and over his clothes, tho 

* See page 222. 
20 



306 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

general continued giving his orders, without noticing the 
derangement of his toilette. The officers present, several 
of whom were of the party the preceding evening, looked 
at each other with anxiety. The chief of the medical 
staff, pleased with the proof of his prediction, and in re- 
miniscence of what had passed the night before, pointed 
toward heaven, which was noticed by the others, with a 
gratifying smile of acknowledgment* 

Of the brave and valued Colonel Hartley, it is said,] 
that the commander-in-chief sent for him in the heat of 
an engagement, and addressed him as follows : " I have 
sent for you, colonel, to employ j^ou on a serious piece 
of service. The state of our affairs, renders it necessar}'', 
that a part of this army should be sacrificed, for the wel- 
fare of the whole. You command an efficient corps (a 
fine regiment of Germans from York and Lancaster 
counties). I know you well, and have, therefore, selected 
you to perform this important and serious duty. You 
will take such a position, and defend it to the last ex- 
tremity." The colonel received this appointment to a for- 
lorn hope, with a smile of exultation, and bowing, replied : 
*^ Your excellency does me too much honor ; your orders 
shall be obeyed to the letter," and repaired to his post. 

I will not be positive as to the location of this anec- 
dote, having heard it from the old people of the Revolu- 
tion many years ago, but think it occurred on the field 
of Monmouth — but of this I am not certain. I have a 
hundred times seen Colonel Hartley received in the halls 
of the great president, where so many Revolutionary 
worthies were made welcome, and to none was the hand 
of honored and friendly recollection more feelingly offer- 

* The substance of this is given in the account of the battle at Monmouth. 



THE INDLiN PROPHECY. 307 

ed; on none did the meritrdiscerning eye of the chief 
appear to beam with more pleasure, than on Hartley of 
York.* 

* Colonel Thomas Hartley was a native of Berks county, Pennsylvania, and was 
bom on the seventh of September, 1748. He studied law in York, and practised his 
profession there. He entered the army at the beginning of the Revolution, and was 
in several engagements. After the descent of Butler and his Indians into the "Wyo- 
ming valley, in the summer of 1778, he commanded a corps in that region. Colonel 
Hartley was a member of Congress in 1788, and held the office twelve consecutive 
years. He also held several offices in his native commonwealth. He died on the 
twenty-first of December, 1800, at the age of fifty-two years. 



308 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XII. 

DANIEL MORGAN. 

Morgan's Nakratives — His Tests op a Good Soldier — Last Survivor op his Corps — 
Wasiiington and Morgan alone — Morgan bent to Reconnoitre — Special Instruc- 
tions — Captain Gabriel Long — Morgan and his Party Reconnoitre — Thet Dis- 
cover A Party or Officers — These Gather jn a Gboupe on a Knoll — Contrary to 
Instructions, Morgan and his Men Fire upon them — Death of some op the Officers 

— Morgan in Low Spirits — His Expectation of Disgrace for Disobedience op Orders 

— Interview with Colonel Hamilton — Morgan in the Presence of Washington — 
His Grief — Second Interview with Hamilton — Invitation to Dine at Headquarters 

— Generously Forgiven by Washington — Congratulations op his Fellow-Officers. 

It was our good fortune, in conversations with the late 
General Daniel Morgan, to elicit from that distinguished 
veteran most interesting narratives of many of the prom- 
inent events in the Revolutionary war * 

* General Daniel Morgan was a native of New Jersey, where he was born in 1 737 
He emigrated to Virginia at the age of eighteen years. That was the year ("1755), when 
Braddock went on his expedition against the French and Indians at Fort du Quesne. 
Morgan accompanied the army as a waggoner. During the march he replied 
sharply to the insults of a British officer, who then tried to run him through with his 
sword. Morgan well-defended himself, and succeeded in giving the officer a severe 
whipping. For this he was condemned to receive five hundred lashes on the bare 
back. Four hundred and fifty were given, when he fainted. The remainder were 
remitted. The officer becoming convinced that he had been in the wrong, apologized ; 
but the memory of this indignity, no doubt, gave vigor to the arm of Daniel Morgan 
in the war against the British officers and soldiers twenty years later. 

Morgan raised a company of riflemen and joined the continental army, at Cam- 
bridge, in 1775. During that autumn he accompanied Arnold in his famous expe- 
dition across the wilderness of the Kennebec and Chaudiere to Quebec, where he 
was taken a prisoner at the close of the year. He was active throughout a greater 
portion of the war, after his exchange. He was in the army against the " Whiskey 
Insurgents," in 1794, and was afterward a member of Congress. His estate in Vir- 



DANIEL MORGAN. 309 

While listening to the tale of the hardships and priva- 
tions of our suffering soldiery, as to a tale of wonder, we 
asked the general which of the men, of the various nations 
composing the American armies (in his excellent judg- 
ment), possessed the best natural requisites for making 
good soldiers ? 

Morgan replied : "As to the fighting part of the matter, 
the men of all nations are pretty much alike ; they fight 
as much as they find necessary, and no more. But, sir, 
for the grand essential in the composition of the good 
soldier, give me the Dutchman — he starves ivelV 

It is not a little remarkable that the last survivor of 
the celebrated rifle corps which Morgan led across the 
wintry wilderness of the Kennebec in 1775, and which 
corps suffered an extremity of famine and hardship al- 
most beyond belief,* is a highly respectable German, a 
Mr. L auk, now resident, at a very advanced age, in Wash- 
ington, Virginia.f 

ginia, where he lived many years, he called Saratoga. He died at Berryville, in Vir- 
ginia, on the sixth of July, 1802, at the age of sixty-five years. 

* Colonel Benedict Arnold left Cambridge with a thousand men, in September, 
1775, and, landing at the mouth of the Kennebec, marched up that stream and 
through the wilderness, to the St. Lawrence, by way of the Chaudiere river, that 
flows northward from Lake Megantic, on the high water-shed in Maine. That 
expedition, to which reference has been made several times before, was one of tlie 
most wonderful on record. Tor forty days Arnold and his men traversed a gloomy 
wilderness without meeting a human being. Frost and snow were upon the ground, 
and ice was upon the surface of the marshes and the streams which they were com- 
pelled to traverse and ford sometimes armpit deep in water and mud. Yet they 
murmured not, and even women followed in their train. Famine beset them before 
they reached the French settlements on the St. Lawrence slope, and they were reduced 
to such extremities, that the dog of Captain Dearborn made a most acceptable meal 
for himself and soldiers. After incredible hardships from fatigue, intense cold, and 
biting hunger, they arrived at Point Levi, opposite Quebec, on the ninth of Novem- 
ber. 

\ This was published in the National Intelligencer, on the fourteenth of December 
1^35. 



-1l 



310 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASIimCTON. 

General Morgan related to ns the substance of the 
following personal reminiscences ; and many times during 
the recital his voice faltered with emotion, and his eyes 
filled with tears : — 

The outposts of the two armies w^ere very near to each 
other, when the American commander, desirous of obt<ain- 
ing particular information respecting the positions of his 
adversary, summoned the famed leader of the riflemen, 
Colonel Daniel Morgan, to headquarters* 

It was night, and the chief was alone. After his usual 
polite, yet reserved and dignified salutation, Washingto 
remarked : " I have sent for you. Colonel Morgan, to en 
trust to your courage and sagacity, a small but very im^ 
portant enterprise. I wish you to reconnoitre the ene- 
my's lines, with a view to your ascertaining correctly 
the positions of their newly-constructed redoubts ; also of 
the encampments of the British troops that have lately 
arrived; and those of their Hessian auxiliaries. Select, 
sir, an officer, non-commissioned officer, and about twenty 
picked men, and under cover of the night proceed with 
all possible caution, get <is near as you can, learn all 
you can, and by day-dawn retire and make your report 
to headquarters. But mark me. Colonel Morgan, mark 
me w^ell : On no account whatever are, you to bring on 
any skirmishing with the enemy. If discovered, make a 
speedy retreat ; let nothing induce you to fire a single 
shot. I repeat, sir, that no force of circumstances will 
excuse the discharge of a single rifle on your part, and 
for the extreme preciseness of these orders, permit me to 

* Mr. Custis has not given the locality of the events of this narrative. It is prob- 
able that it was in New Jersey, and the time a night or two before the battle of Mon- 
mouth. 



I 



DANIEL MORGAN. 311 

say that I have my reasons." Filling two glasses of wine, 
the general continued, " And now, Colonel Morgan, we 
will drink a good night, and success to your enterprise." 
Morgan quaffed the wine, smacked his lips, and assuring 
his excellency that his orders should be punctually 
obeyed, left the tent of the commander-in-chief 

Charmed at being chosen the executive officer of a 
daring enterprise, the Leader of the Woodsmen repaired 
to his quarters, and calling for Gabriel Long, his favorite 
captain, ordered him to detail a trusty sergeant, and 
twenty prime fellows. When these were mustered, and 
ordered to lay on their arms, to be ready at a moment's 
warning, Morgan and Long stretched their manly forms 
before the watchfire, to await the going down of the 
moon — the signal for departure. 

A little after midnight, and while the rays of the set- 
ting moon still faintly glimmered in the Western hori- 
zon, "Up sergeant," cried Long, "stir up your men!" 
and twenty athletic figures Avere upon their feet in a 
moment. Indian file, march, and away all sprung with 
the quick, yet light and stealthy step of the woodsmen. 
They reached the enemy's lines, crawled up so close to 
the pickets of the Hessians, as to inhale the odor of their 
pipes, and discovered, by the newly turned up earth, the 
position of the redoubts, and by the numerous tents that 
dotted the field for " many a rood around," and shone 
dimly amid the night haze, the encampment of the Brit- 
ish and German reinforcements. In short they performed 
their perilous duty without the slightest discovery ; and, 
pleased with themselves, and the success of their enter- 
prise, prepared to retire, just as chanticleer from a neigh- 
boring farm-house was " bidding salutation to the morn." 



312 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The adventurous party reached a small emmence at 
some distance from the British camp, and commanding 
an extensive prospect over the adjoining country. Here 
Morgan halted, to give his men a little rest, before taking 
up his line of march for the American outposts. Scarcely 
had they thrown themselves on the grass, when they 
perceived, issuing from the enemy's advanced pickets, a 
body of horse, commanded by an officer, and proceeding 
along a road that led directly by the spot where the 
riflemen had halted. No spot could be better chosen for 
an ambuscade, for there were rocks and ravines, and alsoi 
scrubby oaks, that grew thickly on the eminence by" 
which the road we have just mentioned passed, at not 
exceeding a hundred yards. 

" Down boys, down," cried Morgan, as the horse ap- 
proached ; nor did the clansmen of the Black Ehoderic 
disappear more promptly amid their native heather, than 
did Morgan's woodsmen in the present instance, each to 
his tree, or rock. " Lie close there, my lads, till we see 
what these fellows are about." 

Meantime, the horsemen had gained the height, and 
the officer dropping his rein on his charger's neck, with 
a spy-glass reconnoitred the American lines. The 
troopers closed up their files, and were either cherishing 
the noble animals they rode, adjusting their equipments, 
or gazing upon the surrounding scenery now fast bright- 
ening in the beams of a rising sun. 

Morgan looked at Long, and Long upon his superior, 
while the riflemen, with panting chests and sparkling 
eyes, were only awaiting some signal from their officers 
« to let the ruin fly." 

At length the martial ardor of Morgan overcame his 



DANIEL MORGAN. - 313 

prudence and sense of military subordination. Forgetful 
of consequences, reckless of everything but liis enemy 
now within his grasp, he waved his hand, and loud and 
sharp rang the report of the rifles amid the surrounding 
echoes. 

At point-blank distance, the certain and deadly aim of 
the Hunting Shirts of the Eevolutionary army is too well 
known to history to need remark at this time of day. In 
the instance we have to record, the effects of the fire of 
the riflemen were tremendous. Of the horsemen, some 
had fallen to rise no more, while their liberated chargers 
rushed wildly over the adjoining plains ; others, wounded, 
but entangled with their stirrups, were dragged by the 
furious animals expiringly along, while the very few 
who were unscathed spurred hard to regain the shelter 
of the British lines. 

While the smoke yet canopied the scene of slaughter, 
and the picturesque forms of the woodsmen appeared 
among the foliage, as they were reloading their pieces, 
the colossal figure of Morgan stood apart. He seemed 
the very genius of war, as gloomily he contemplated the 
havoc his order had made. He spoke not, he moved 
not, but looked as one absorbed in an intensity of 
thought. The martial shout with which he was wont to 
cheer his comrades in the hour of combat was hushed ; 
the shell* from which he had blown full many a note of 

* Morgan's riflemen were generally in the advance, skirmishing with the light 
troops of the enemy, or annoying his flanks ; the regiment was thus much divided 
into detachments, and dispersed over a very wide field of action. Morgan was in 
the habit of using a conch-shell frequently during the heat of battle, with which he 
would blow a loud and warlike blast. This he said was to inform his boys that he 
t was still alive, and from many parts of the field was beholding their pi'owess ; and, 
like the last signal of a celebrated sea-warrior of another hemisphere, was expecting 
that " every man would do his duty." — Note by the Author. 



314 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

battle and of triiimpli on the fields of Saratoga, liimg idly 
by his side ; no order was given to spoil the slain. The 
arms and equipments for which there was always a 
bounty from Congress, the shirts for which there was 
such need in that, the sorest period of our country's pri- 
vation, all, all, were abandoned, as, with an abstracted 
air and a voice struggling for utterance, Morgan sud- 
denly turning to his captain, exclaimed, " Long, to the 
camp, march." The favorite captain obeyed, the rifle- 
men, with trailed arms, fell into file, and Long and his 
party soon disappeared, but not before the hardy fellows 
had exchanged opinions on the strange termination of 
the late affair. And they agreed ncm con, that their 
colonel was tricked (conjured), or assuredly, after such a 
fire as they had just given the enemy, such an emptying 
of saddles, and such a scampering of the troopers, he 
would not have ordered his poor rifle-boys from the field, 
without so much as a few shirts or pairs of stockings 
being divided amongst them. "Yes," said a tall, lean 
and swarthy-looking fellow, an Indian hunter from the 
frontier, as he carefully placed his moccasined feet, in the 
foot-prints of his file-leader, " Yes, my lads, it stands to 
reason our colonel is tricked." 

Morgan followed slowly on the trail of his men. The 
full force of his military guilt had rushed upon his mind, 
even before the reports of his rifles had ceased to echo in 
the neighboring forests. He became more and more 
convinced of the enormity of his offence, as, with dull 
and measured strides, he pursued his solitary way, and 
thus he soliloquized : — 

" Well, Daniel Morgan, you have done for yourself 
Broke, sir, broke to a certainty. You may go home, sir. 



DANIEL MORGAN. 315 

to the plough ; your sword will be of no further use to 
jou. Broke, su% nothing can save you ; and there is the 
end of Colonel Morgan. Fool, fool — by a single act of 
madness thus to destroy the earnings of so many toils, 
and many a hard-fought battle. You are broke, sir, and 
there is an end of Colonel Morgan." 

To disturb this reverie, there suddenly appeared, at 
full speed, the aid-de-camp, the Mercury of the field,=^ 
who, reining up, accosted the colonel with, " I am or- 
dered, Colonel Morgan, to ascertain whether the firing 
just now heard, proceeded from your detachment." — " It 
did, sir," replied Morgan, doggedly. " Then, colonel," 
continued the aid, " I am further ordered to require your 
immediate attendance upon his excellency, who is fast 
approaching." Morgan bowed, and the aid, wheehng his 
charger, galloped back to rejoin his chief 

The gleams of the morning sun upon the sabres of the 
horse-guard, announced the arrival of the dreaded com- 
mander — that being who inspired with a degree of awe 
every one who approached him. With a stern, yet dig- 
nified composure, "Washington addressed the military 
culprit. " Can it be possible, Colonel Morgan, that my 
aid-de-camp has informed me aright? Can it be pos- 
sible, after the orders you received last evening, that the 
firing we have heard proceeded from your detachment ? 
Surely, sir, my orders were so explicit as not to be easily 
misunderstood." Morgan was brave, but it has been often 
and justly, too, observed, that that man never was bom 
of woman, who could approach the great Washington, 
and not feel a degree of awe and veneration from his 
presence. Morgan quailed for a moment before the 

* Colonel Alexander Hamilton. 

} 




RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

n, yet just displeasure of his chief, till, arousing all 
'energies to the effort, he uncovered, and replied: 
"Your Excellency's orders were perfectly well under- 
stood ; and, agreeably to the same, I proceeded with a 
select partj to reconnoitre the enemy's lines by night. 
We succeeded even beyond our expectations, and I was 
returning to headquarters to make my report, when, 
having halted a few minutes to rest the men, we dis- 
covered a party of horse coming out from the enemy's 
lines. They came up immediately to the spot where we 
lay concealed by the brushwood. There they halted, 
and gathered up together like a flock of partridges, 
affording me so tempting an opportunity of annoying 
my enemy, that — that — may it please your excellency 
— flesh and blood could not refrain." 

At this rough, yet frank, bold, and manly explanation, 
a smile was observed to pass over the countenances of 
several of the general's suite. The chief remained un- 
moved ; when, waving his hand, he continued : '• Colonel 
Morgan, you will retire to your quarters, there to await 
further orders." Morgan bowed, and the military cortege 
rode on to the inspection of the outposts. 

Arrived at his quarters, Morgan threw himself upon 
his hard couch, and gave himself up to reflections upon 
the events which had so lately and so rapidly succeeded 
each other. He was aware that he had sinned past all 
hope of forgiveness. Within twenty-four hours, he had 
fallen from the command of a regiment, and being an 
especial favorite with his general, to be, what — a dis- 
graced and broken soldier. Condemned to retire from 
scenes of glory, the darling passion of his heart — for ever 
to abandon the " fair fields of fighting, and in obscurity 



DANIEL MORGAN. 317 

to drag out the remnant of a wretched existence, neg- 
lected and forgotten. And then his reputation, so nobly 
won, with all his "blushing honors" acquired in the 
march across the frozen wilderness of the Kennebec, the 
storming of the Lower Town, and the gallant and glo- 
rious combats of Saratoga, to be lost in a moment ! 

The hours dragged gloomily away. Night came, but 
with it no rest for the troubled spirit of poor Morgan. 
The drums and fifes merrily sounded the soldiers' dawn, 
and the sun arose, giving " promise of a goodly day." 
And to many within the circuit of that widely-extended 
camp did its genial beams give hope, and joy, and glad- 
ness, while it cheered not with a single ray the despair- 
ing leader of the Woodsmen. 

About ten o'clock, the orderly on duty reported the 
arrival of an officer of the staff from headquarters, and 
Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton, the favorite aid of the 
commander-in-chief, entered the marquee. " Be seated," 
said Morgan ; " I know your errand, so be short my dear 
fellow, and put me out of my misery at once. I know 
that I am arrested, 'tis a matter of course. Well, there 
is my sword ; but surely his excellency honors me, in- 
deed, in these the last moments of my military existence, 
wheii he sends for my sword by his favorite aid, and my 
most esteemed friend. Ah, my dear Hamilton, if you 
knew what I have suffered since the cursed horse came 
out to tempt me to my ruin." 

Hamilton, about whose strikingly-intelligent coun- 
i tenance there always lurked a j^layful smile, now ob- 
' served, " Colonel Morgan, his excellency has ordered me 
\ to" — "I know it," interrupted Morgan, "to bid me pre- 
j pare for trial, but pshaw, why a trial ! Guilty, sir, guilty 



318 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

past all doubt. But then (recollecting himself), perhaps 
my services might plead — nonsense ! against the dis- 
obedience of a positive order ? No, no, it is all over with 
me, Hamilton, there is an end of your old friend, and of 
Colonel Morgan." The agonized spirit of our hero then 
mounted to a pitch of enthusiasm as he exclaimed, " But 
my country will remember my services, and the British 
and Hessians will remember me too, for though I may 
be far away, my brave comrades will do their duty, and 
Morgan's riflemen be, as they always have been, a terror 
to the enemy." I 

The noble, the generous-souled Hamilton could nof 
longer bear to witness the struggles of the brave unfor- 
tunate, and he called out : " Hear me, my dear colonel, 
only promise to hear me for one moment, and I will tell 
you all. " Go on, sir," replied Morgan, despairingly, " go 
on." — "Then," continued the aid-de-camp, "you must 
know that the commanders of regiments dine with his 
excellency to-day." — ^"What of that," again interrupted 
Morgan, " what has that to do with me, a prisoner and — ." 
" No, no," exclaimed Hamilton, no prisoner, a once-offend- 
ing, but now a forgiven soldier. My orders are to invite 
you to dine with his excellency to-day at three o'clock 
precisely ; yes, my brave and good friend. Colonel Mor- 
gan, you still are, and likely long to be, the valued and 
famed commander of the rifle regiment." 

Morgan sprang from the camp-bed on which he was 
sitting, and seizing the hand of the little great man hi 
his giant grasp, wrung and wrung, till the aid-de-camp 
literally struggled to get free, then exclaimed, " Am I in 
my senses ? But I know you, Hamilton, you are too 
noble a fellow to sport with the feelings of an old brother- 



DANIEL MORG.«^. 319 

soldier." Hamilton assured his friend that all was true. 



and gayly kissing his hand as he mounted his horse, bid 
the now delighted colonel to remember three o'clock, 
and be careful not to disobey a second time, galloped to 
the headquarters. 

Morgan entered the pavilion of the commander-in- 
chief, as it was fiist filling with officers, all of whom, after 
paying their respects to the general, filed off to give a 
cordial squeeze of the hand to the commander of the 
rifle regiment, and to whisper in his ear words of con- 
gratulation. The cloth removed, Washington bid his 
guests fill their glasses, and gave his only, his unvarying 
toast, the toast of the days of trial, the toast of the even- 
ing of his "time-honored" life amid the shades of Mount 
Vernon — ^^ All our Friendsy Then, with his usual old- 
fashioned politeness, he drank to each guest by name. 
When he came to " Colonel Morgan, your good health, 
sir," a thrill ran through the manly frame of the gratified 
and again favorite soldier, while every eye in the pavil- 
ion was turned upon him. At an early hour the com- 
pany broke up, and Morgan had a perfect escort of 
officers accompanying him to his quarters, all anxious to 
congratulate him upon his happy restoration to rank and 
fivor, all pleased to assure him of their esteem for his 
person and services. 

And often in his after life did Morgan reason upon the 
events which we have transmitted to the Americans and 
their posterity, and he would say : " What could the un- 
usual clemency of the gommander-in-chief toward so in- 
subordinate a soldier as I was, mean ? Was it that my 
I attacking my enemy wherever I could find him, and the 
I attack being crowned with success, should plead in bar 



320 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

of the disobedience of a positive order ? Certainly not. 
Was it that Washington well knew I loved, nay adored, 
him above all human beings ? That knowledge would 
not have weighed a feather in the scale of his military 
justice. In short, the whole affair is explained in five 
words ; it was my first offence^ 

The clemency of Washington toward \hQ first offence pre- 
served to the army of the Revolution one of its most 
vahied and effective soldiers, and had its reward in Httle 
more than two years from the date of our narrative, when 
Brigadier-General Morgan established his own fame, and 
shed an undying lustre on the arms of his country, by the 
glorious and ever-memorable victory of the Cowpens.* 

* The southern states became the most important theatre of military operations 
in the year 1781. General Greene had been appointed commander-in-chief of the 
southern department, in October, 1780, and with his usual skill and energy, arranged 
his army for a winter campaign, in two divisions. With the main army, Greene took 
post at Cheraw, eastward of the Pedee, and Morgan (then promoted to brigadier- 
general) was sent with the remainder (about a thousiind in number) to occupy the 
country near the junction of the Pacolet and Broad rivers. At that time, Cornwallis 
was preparing to invade North Carolina. He found himself in a dangerous situa- 
tion, for he was placed between the two divisions of the republican army. Unwill- 
ing to leave Morgan in his rear, he sent Tarleion to capture or disperse his troops. 
His force was superior, and the Americans retreated northward for some distance. 
At length having reached a position among the Thicketty mountains, in Spartanburg 
district, Morgan found himself compelled to fight. Posting his men upon an emi- 
nence, he turned and faced his pursuers. This movement disconcerted Tarleton, 
for he expected to fall upon Morgan in the confusion of a flight. He was confident 
of an easy victory, however, and prepared for battle. On the morning of the seven- 
teenth of January, 1781, a furious contest began. For more than two hours they 
fought desperately, when the British broke and fled. They lost almost three hun- 
dred men in killed and wounded, five hundred made prisoners, and a large quantity 
of arms, ammunition, and stores. It was one of the most brilliant victories achieved 
during the war. Congress awarded a gold medal to General Morgan, and Colonels 
Howard and Washington, who nobly seconded the general, each received a silver 
medal. Morgan pushed on across the Catawba with his prisoners, and at the Yad- 
kin was joined by General Greene. Then commenced that remarkable retreat of 
Greene before Cornwallis, from the Yadkin, beyond the Dan, into Virginia, which | 
has arrested the attention of military men. I 



DANIEL MORGAN. 321 

Nearly twenty years more had rolled away, and our 
hero, like most of his compatriots, had beaten his sword 
into a ploughshare, and was enjoying, in the midst of a 
domestic circle, the evening of a varied and eventful life. 
When advanced in years, and infirm, Major-General Mor- 
gan was called to the supreme legislature of his country, 
as a representative of the state of Virginia.* It was at 
this period that the author of these Memoirs had the 
honor and happiness of an interview with the old gen- 
eral, which lasted for several days. And the veteran was 
most kind and communicative to one, who hailing from 
the immediate family of his venerated chief, found a 
ready and a warm welcome to the heart of Morgan. And 
many, and most touchmg reminiscences of the days of 
trial were related by the once famed leader of the woods- 
men, to the then youthful and delighted listener, which 
were eagerly devoured, and carefully treasured in a mem- 
ory of no ordinary power. 

And it was there the unlettered Morgan, a man bred 
amid the scenes of danger and hardihood that distin- 
guished the frontier warfare, with little book knowledge, 
but gifted by nature with a strong and discriminating 
mind, paid to the fame and memory of the Father of our 
Country a more just, more magnificent tribute than, in 
our humble judgment, has emanated from the thousand 
and one efforts of the best and brightest geniuses of the 
age. General Morgan spoke of the necessity of Washing- 
ton to the army of the Revolution, and the success of the 



' * General Morgan was elected to Congress in 1797, and served two years. In 

I July, 1799, he published an address to his constituents, in which he vindicated the 

I administration of President Adams. Like Washington, Morgan was a federalist. 

p The author of these Recollections was then about eighteen years of age. 

\ 21 



322 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

struggle for Independence. He said we had officers of 
great military talents, as for instance Greene and others; 
we had officers of the most consummate courage and 
spirit of enterprize, as for instance Wayne and others. 
One was yet necessary, to guide, direct, and animate the 
whole, and it pleased Almighty God to send that one in 
the person of George Washington 1 



EGBERT MORRIS. 323 



CHAPTER XIII 

ROBERT MORRIS* 

WnoM pro Washington most Love — Washington and Greene — Washington's Caption 
IN Guarding against Jealousies — Intimate Acquaintances op Washington — Eobert 
Morris — His Financial Aid to the Patriots — A chosen Guest at Washington's 
Table — Morris's Speculations — Washington's Advice unheeded — Washington Visits 
Morris in Prison — Proverbial Ingratitude op Republics, 

It has often been asked, " Who were the favorites of 
Washington? whom did he love?" I answer, the most 
worthy. Washington hved for his country, and for her 
so much did he " live and move," and almost " have his 
being," that when he loved a man, that man must love 
his country. 

In the War for Independence, Greene was his Hephaas- 
tion,^ yet such was his delicacy in bestowing praise, 

* First published in the Philadelphia National Gazette, on the twenty-ninth of 
June, 1826. 

t Nathaniel Greene was born of Quaker parents, at Warwick, in Rhode Island, in 
1740. He was trained to the occupation of an anchor-smith, the business of his 
father. He was quick and studious, and while yet a boy, had learned some Latin 
and collected a small library. He loved to read books on military subjects. At the 
age of twenty-one he was elected a member of the Rhode Island legislature ; and, 
full of zeal for republican principles, he hesitated not a moment to take up arms 
for his country, contrary to the practices and traditions of his sect. He took the 
command of three regiments of the Army of Observation, which Rhode Island sent to 
Roxbury after the affair at Lexington. The Quakers disowned him, and the Con- 
gress made him a brigadier-general. All through the long struggle of seven years, 
he was the most useful of all the officers ; and in genuine military genius, was in 
some respects superior to Washington. He retired to Rhode Island at the conclu- 
sion of the war, and soon afterward went to Georgia to look after an estate near 
Savannah, which that state had given him. There, in June, 1786, he was prostrated 



324 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

even where most deserved, that he dechned the mention- 
hig of Greene's division, which had so gallantly covered 
the retreat from Brandywine, saying to that illustrious 
commander, who prayed that his comrades might receive 
their well-earned commendation : " You, sir, are con- 
sidered in this army as my favorite officer ; your divi- 
sion is composed of southrons, my more immediate 
countrymen. Such are my reasons."=^ 

It has been thought that certain vivacious personages, 
as Gouverneur Morris, and General Henry Lee, were in 
the habit of taking liberties with the chief Around the 
Father of his Country, his virtues and character created 
an atmosphere of awe and veneration, in which undue 
familiarity could not have existed for a moment. No 
men living were more ardently attached to the chief 
than the Kevolutionary statesman and distinguished of- 
ficer alluded to. They possessed brilliant talents, had 
rendered conspicuous services, and were the most plea- 



by a "sun-stroke," and died on the nineteenth of that month, at the age of forty- 
six years. 

Greene was truly to Washington what Hephsestion was to Alexander. He loved 
him tenderly, and from the earliest moment of their acquaintance, their attach- 
ment was warm and sincere. Alexander used to say, in speaking of the intimacy 
between his friend and himself, that " Craterus was the friend of the king, but 
Hephajstion was the friend of Alexander." Such was the relationship between 
Washington and Greene. 

* One of the most delicate duties to which Washington was called, during the 
earlier years of the war particularly, was the silencing of jealousies among the oflScers. 
They all soon learned so to confide in his justice, that he seldom failed in his efforts 
to allay unpleasant feelings. But while he desired to avoid every appearance of 
favoritism, he never failed to employ, in a manner, and in a position that he deemed 
best for the public service, those whom his judgment approved. In Greene he dis- 
covered rare talent for every kind of military service requiring great executive ability, 
and he never hesitated to give him his proper position ; but, as in the instance 
mentioned in the text, he avoided the public expression of his opinion of his superiir 
merits, so as not to offend others unnecessarily. 



♦ 



ROBERT MORRIS. 325 

surable companions of their time. These considerations, 
together with the absence of restraint at the private par- 
ties of the president, gave rise to the idea that there 
were certain characters who could approach without 
reserve, and even toy with the passive lion. But the 
lion, though passive, was the lion still. He could always 
be approached, and sometimes in sportive mood, but not 
so near as to lay hand upon his mane.'" 

If I am asked — ^^ And did not Washington unbend and 
admit to familiarity, and social friendship, some one per- 
son, to whom age and long and interesting associations 
gave peculiar privilege, the privilege of the heart?" — I 
answer, that favored individual was ExDbert Morris. 

The general-in-chief of the armies of Independence, in 
the relief afforded to the privations of his suffering sol- 
diery, first learned the value of Robert Morris. It was 
he who brought order out of chaos, and whose talent 
and credit sustained the cause of his country in her worst 
of times."]- Virtues and services like these endeared 

* See note on page 175. 

t Mr. Morris was one of the Pennsylvania delegates in the second continental 
Congress ; and a few weeks after he had taken his seat, in 1775, he was placed 
upon the secret committee whose duty it was to contract for the importation of 
munitions of war. He was also on a committee for fitting out a naval armament, 
and specially to negotiate bills of exchange for Congress to borrow money for the 
marine committee, and to manage the fiscal concerns of Congress upon other occa- 
sions. From that time he was the accredited and efficient financier of the Revolution- 
ary government. His private commercial credit was such, that ail men had con- 
fidence in him as the public agent. Instances of his affording pecuniary assistance 
to the army have already been given in these pages. On one occasion he became 
personally responsible for a quantity of lead for the use of the army ; at another, 
when the Congress was utterly without cash or credit, he supplied the army with 
four or five thousand barrels of flour ; when the French troops came, he borrowed 
twenty thousand dollars in specie on his own credit from Rochambeau. After the 
continental money became valueless, Robert Morris's notes formed a part of the 
reliable circulating medium. When, in 1781, a bank for government purposes was 



326 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

their possessor to the paternal chief, in whose heart the 
financier of the Revolution held an esteem which neither 
time nor misfortune could alter or impair. 

Mr. Morris was ever a welcome guest at tlie private and 
select parties of the president. So much was this a mattei 
of course, that the steward, having first placed Mr. M.'s 
favorite wine at the plate immediately on the right of 
the chief, would repair to the dwelling of Morris, and 
observe, "The president dines with a select party of 
friends to-day, and expects your company as usual."* 

When Mr. Morris first engaged in those speculations 
w^hich terminated so unhappily, Washington, with the 
privilege of sincere friendship, remonstrated, observing, 
" You are old, and had better retire, rather than engage 
in such extensive concerns." Morris replied, " Your ad- 
vice is proof of that wisdom and prudence which govern 
all your words and actions : but, my dear general, I can 
never do things in the small ; I must be either a man or 
a mouse"-f 

established in Philadelphia, he subscribed ten thousand pounds, and induced others 
to swell the amount to three hundred thousand pounds. Other instances of the 
manner in which, financially, he supported the cause, might be given, but these will 
suffice. Botta, in his History of the Revolution, says, " certainly the Americans 
owed, and still owe, as much acknowledgment to the financial operations of Robert 
Morris, as to the negotiations of Benjamin Franklin, or even the arms of G< orge 
Washington." 

* This was when the seat of government was in Philadelphia. Mr. Morris hold 
the very first social position in tliat city. For nearly half a century, an intro- 
duction to Robert Morris was a matter in course, with all strangers who visited 
Philadelphia on commercial, public, or private business, and he w.as considered by 
all as a representative of the city. 

t Washington was at that time quite largely, but not injudiciously, engaged in 
land speculations with Governor George Clinton and others, nlthousjh his name did 
not publicly appear as such. At the time alluded to in the text, a gigantic land 
speculation, known as the scheme of the " North American Land Company,' 
had been commenced and Mr. Morris was one of the principal partners. He soli 



ROBERT MORRIS. 327 

In 1798, when the lieutenantrgeneral and commander- 
in-chief repaired to Philadelphia to superintend the 
organization of his last army,* unmindful of the dignity, 
wealth, and splendor which crowded to greet his arrival, 
he paid his first visit to the prison-house of Kobert 
Morris.*|- The old man wrung the hand of the chief in 

cited Washington to join in the speculation. He declined, and gave Morris the 
advice above mentioned. The chief parties in the company (which was organized 
in 1785), were Robert Morris, James Greenleaf, and John Nicholson. The land, 
for which they paid large suras of money, lay in the states of Pennsylvania, Vir- 
ginia, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Kentucky, in all six millions of acres. 
Their intention was to sell the lands at a handsome profit, to small speculators and 
actual settlers, at the average price of fifty cents an acre. Several years afterward, 
Mr. Morris became concerned with others in the purchase of over a million of acres 
in western New York, at sixteen cents an acre. This speculation, with the whole 
former scheme, was a failure. Morris and Nicholson were utterly ruined. The 
latter, who was at one time comptroller-general of the state of Pennsylvania, died, 
it is said, leaving unpaid debts to an immense amount. Mr. Morris was finally 
consigned to the debtor's apartment of the Walnut-street prison, to which was 
attached a small garden, in which he was permitted to exercise. There he remained 
a long time, and suffered much. He died in 1806; leaving a widow, a sister of 
Bishop White. 

* John Adams was inaugurated President of the United States in March, 1797. He 
sought diligently to reconcile disputes that had arisen between the governments of 
the United States and France, but without success ; and when Congress assembled 
in December that year, war measures were adopted. In May, 1798, quite a large 
etanding army was authorized. Washington had expressed his approval of the 
measure, and in July he was appointed the commander-in-chief. He consented to 
accept the office, only on the condition that General Hamilton should be the acting 
i;ommander-in-chief, for the retired president was unwilling to take the field, unless 
the most urgent necessity should demand it. 

t The debtors' apartment of the Walnut-street prison was on Prune street. 
Though suffering in bodily health, Mr. Morris's mind was cheerful under the weight 
of his misfortunes. On one occasion he wrote the following playful note to his old 
partner in speculations : — 

" Messrs. Henry Banks, David Allison and Robert Morris present their corapli 
ments to John Nicholson, Esq., and request the favor of his company to dine with 
them at the hotel with grated doors, in Prune street, at one o'clock, on Sunday next, 
pledging themselves most solemnly that to him the doors will be open for admission 
and departure on that day. 

"Friday Mornikg, Wth May, 1798. 

'' Dear sir : I have written the above not only with the consent, but at the request 



o28 . RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

silence, while his tearful eye gave the welcome to such 
an home. The mouse was, indeed, in his iron-bound 
cage ; but, in the United States of America, for Robert 
Morris to have been imprisoned, in character^ the bars 
should have hem of gold. How is this, Americans ? Is it 
not the condemnation of Manlius on the Capitoline hill, 
a crime 's^llich the heathen Eoman dared not commit? 
The financier of the Revolution, whose talent,, whose 
credit sustained the cause of his country in that country's 
utmost need ! Whatever may have been his misfortunes, 
say his faults, did not his generous services " plead like 
angels, trumpetrtongued, against the deep damnation," 

of the parties, and it is done after consulting Mr. Hoffner, who solemnly assures us 
that nothing can operate as a detainer but a bail-piece, and I think you have no such 
thing to fear ; or if tliere is any special bail for you, it is John Baker, on whom you 
can safely rely. Come, therefore, my friend, as early in the forenoon as you can, 
that we may have some conversation before as well as after dinner. We will show 
you how we live here, that you may be prepared to bear your fate, snould it be de- 
cided tliat you are to become a boarder at this hotel 

" I am your friend and servant, 

" RoBBBT Morris. 

" 3% 11, 1798. 

' Jno. Nicholson, Esq." 

Mr. Nicholson afterward became a regular inmate of the same "hotel," where he 
edited a newspaper." 

William B. Wood, the celebrated actor, was a compulsory guest at the same 
" hotel with grated doors," for a short time, and has left on record the following 
account of his interview with Robert Morris there : — 

" Mr. Morris appeared cheerful, returned my salutation in the politest manner, 
but in silence, continuing his walk, and dropping from his hand at a given spot, a 
pebble on each round, until a certain number which he had in his hand was ex- 
lumstcd. For some mornings the same silence prevailed, until at length, observing 
my languid deportment, he suddenly stopped, inquired whether I was ill, and added 
with something like severity, ' Sir, this is but an ill place for one so sickly, and 
apparently so youmj.' He seemed to wait for some kind of explanation, which I 
found myself either unable or unwilling to gr\-e — and then passed on. From this 
time he spoke to me almost daily, and always with great kindness. On one occa- 
sion he unbent much more than usual, and offered some remarks which embraced 
much good counsel. In more than one instance he favored me with friendly notice. 



ROBERT MORRIS. 329 

of such an Jiome for his age ? And, when broken-hearted, 
pennyless, friendless, and forgotten, his gray hairs de- 
scended in sorrow to the grave, how was the last duty 
paid to him, to whom we owed so much ? How many 
of those who had basked in the sunshine of his prosperity, 
fed at his ever hospitable board, and drank of his ever 
flowing cup, followed his hearse ? Where the corporate 
bodies — where the long trains of youth who were led up 
to pay their last homage to the repiMids henef actor z'* 

* Unfortunately our history affords a parallel. Colonel William Barton, of 
Rhode Island, received a grant of land in Vermont for his Revolutionary services. 
By the transfer of some of this land he became entangled in the toils of the law, and 
was imprisoned for debt in Vermont for many years, until the visit of Lafayette to 
this country in 1825. That illustrious man, hearing of the incarceration of Colonel 
Barton and its cause, liquidated the claim against him, and restored his fellow- 
soldier to liberty. It was a noble act, and significantly rebuked the Shylock who 
held the patriot in bondage, and clamored for " the pound of flesh." This circum- 
stance drew from Whittier his glorious poem, The Prisoner for Debt, in which he 
exclaims — 

" What has the gray-haired prisoner done ? 
Has murder stained his hands with gore ? 
Not so ; his crime 's a fouler one : 

God made the old man poor ! 
For this he shares a felon's cell, 

The fittest earthly type of hell ! 
For this, the boon for which he poured, 
His young blood on the invader's sword, 
And counted light the fearful cost — 
His blood-gained liberty is lost. 
* * * * 

Down with the law that binds him thus ! 

Unworthy freemen, let it find 
No refuge from the withering curse 

Of God and human kind ! 

Open the prisoner's living tomb, 

And usher from its brooding gloom 

The victims of your savage code 

To the free sun and air of God ! 

No longer dare, as crime, to brand 

The chastening of the Almighty's hand !" 



330 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XIY. 

THOMAS NELSON. 

Nelson's Ancestoes — His Early Employments — A Man of Fortune — Kindling op thb 
Ekvolution in Virginia — Nelson a Member of Congress in 1770 — Influence op lead- 
ins Minds — Mifflin sent to Eecruit for the Army — Nelson organizes a Corps op 
Cavalry — Elected Governor op Virginia — Arnold and Cornwallis — American 
Military Leaders in Virginia — Depreciation op Continental Money — The People 
avoid it — Nelson's Noble Example — Anecdote op his Patriotism told by Lafavetth 
— He Borrows Money foe Public Services on his own Kesponsibility — Public Nb«« 
LECT — The Familiar Friends of ■Washington — Nelson's Family Unbewarded. M\ 

Among the patriots, statesmen, and soldiers that Vir- 
ginia contributed to the Congress and armies of the Re- 
volution, Thomas Nelson will ever claim an elevated 
rank. Descended from ancient and highly respectable 
English ancestry, General Nelson was educated in Eng- 
land, and was engaged, prior to the Revolution, in mer-f 
cantile concerns, upon an extensive scale, at Yorktown, 
in Virginia, strange to say, at that period the importing 
city for Philadelphia.^' 

Upon the breaking out of the troubles. Nelson joined 
the cause of the colonies. He was a man of large for- 

* Yorktown is now an inconsiderable village, containing about three hundred in- 
habitants. It is still a port of entry, but commerce has deserted it, and the village is 
going into decay. A courthouse was built there in the year 1698 ; and an old church 
which was destroyed in 1814, had in it a bell inscribed, " County of York, Virginia, 
1725." The church was built at the close of the previous century, out of the stone | 
marl wiiich composes the bluff on which the town stands. The water-scenerj- at 
Yorktown is very fine. The York river is there a full mile wide, and from the ruius 
or site of the old church, no land is visible in the direction of Chesapeake bay, inta 
which the river flows. 



THOMAS NELSON. 331 

tune, having many and valuable estates in different coun- 
ties, particularly the county of Hanover. Greatly be- 
loved in his native colony, he held a high and command- 
ing influence among the people. He threw all into the 
scale of his country, in her struggle for the natural rights 
of mankind. 

After the battle of Lexington, Virginia put forth all 
her strength in the senate and the field. The very elite 
of her statesmen had been sent to the Congress of 1774,* 

* Failing in their efforts to obtain a redress of their grievances, by remonstrances 
and petitions, the colonists, in 1774, resolved to call a general congress of represen- 
tatives. These were chosen in the several colonies during the spring and summer, 
and on the fifth of September they assembled, by appointment, in a building known 
as Carpenter's Hall, in Philadelphia. Some of the wisest and best men in America 
were there. Their sessions continued until the twenty-sixth of October ; and during 
that time they discussed the great questions of the day in such manner that the repre- 
sentatives of each colony became well informed respecting the temper of the people 
in general, and were prepared to enter, into that union of effort for independence 
"which was soon afterward formed. Twelve of the thirteen colonies were represented. 
Georgia was the exception. The delegates from Virginia were — Peyton Randolph, 
George Washington, Richard Henry Lee, Patrick Henry, and Richard Bland. 

The author of these Recollections relates the following anecdote, in connection with 

this Congress, upon the authority of Ludwell Lee, son of Richard Henry Lee : 

"When the first continental congress assembled at Philadelphia, September, 1774, 

there had been no provision made for the maintenance of the members, while in the 

discharge of their public duties. A council being held to determine as to the ways 

and means of effecting this most just and necessary arrangement, Richard Henry 

Lee (the same who afterward, in '76,moved the Declaration of Independence), rose, and 

1 observed, that as he was assured that every member present was desirous of putting 

the country to the least possible expense, in the maintenance of the Congress, he 

would move, that during the session, the honorable members be fed on wild pigeons, 

I that article appearing to be in very great abundance, and certainly the very cheapest 

\ food in the market. 

I " Now let the modern reader remember, that this Richard Henry Lee was bred in 
I 'the lap of luxury, educated in Europe, and possessed the most polished and courtly 
( manners, while his seat of Chantilly, which he had just left to obey the high and 
' imposing call of his country, was at once the seat of the most refined and enlarged 
; hospitality. 

( " This illustrious patriot and statesmen, often congratulated himself in his later life, 
' open his famed motion touching the maintenance of the members of the first Coa- 



a# 



332 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

while the pride of her chivalry took arms in the succeed- 
ing year. Among the illustrious names that composed 
the Virginia delegation to the Roman-like senate of 1776, 
we find the name of Thomas Nelson, junior, who affixed 
hjs signature to the Declaration of Independence on the 
ever-memorable fourth of July. 

The state of society in the South in the olden time w 
very different from 'that of modern days, under the 
republic. Under the ancien regime there were but two 
orders in society — the rich and educated, and the poor. 
Hence, the higher classes, as they were then called, held a 
most material influence over those who were not so for- 
tunately situated. Men of extensive personal influence 
over the minds of the people at large, were all-important 
to the cause of American liberty in the commencement 
and during the Avhole progress of the Revolution, with 
the view of difflising and fostering the whig spirit, in 
opposition to the powerful and ably-directed eflbrts of 
the tories.* 

It is well known to history, that the commander-in- 
chief spared, at a very critical period of the war, an active 
and valued officer (Mifflin), that he might exert his per- 
sonal influence among the people of his native state, to 
recruit the wasted ranks of the army.f 

gress, declaring it to have been in purity of patriotism, not secondary to even hi« f 
immortal resolve in 76, ' That these united colonies are, and of right ought to l>e i 
free and independent states.' — Such was a patriot of our olden time." • 

* The terms whig and tory had then long been used in England, as titles of politic al 
parties, and continue to be so used to the present day. The former denoted the 
opposers of royalty ; the latter indicated its supporters. These terms were intro- 
duced into America two or three years before the Revolution broke out, and becarad 
the distinctive titles of patriots and loyalists. 

t It was late in the autumn of 1776, while Washington and his little array wcro 
••etrcating toward the Delaware, across New Jersey. The army was rapidly melting 



THOMAS NELSON. 333 

On his return to Virginia from serving in the continen- 
tal Congress, General Nelson exerted himself in keeping 
alive the spirit of the Revolution, which was often flagging 
from the severe disasters that had attended our arms. 
He was also actively employed in organizing a corps of 
cavalry, in which young gentlemen of the first families 
served as volunteers. This corps he commanded up to 
the double invasion of 1781,* when, upon being elected 
governor of the state, he took the command in chief of 
its militia. 

The invasion of Arnold was more immediatel}^ preda- 
tory, but that of Cornwallis swept like a tempest through 
the devoted commonwealth, already much weakened by 
her untiring exertions to sustain the army of Greene in 
the Carolinas, and to defend the many points of her ter- 
ritory, assailable by the attacks of the enemy's naval 
power.-}- 

by desertions and the expiration of terms of enlistment. It was a most gloomy 
period of the contest, and few hoped for success in the field. However, Washing- 
ton determined to have personal appeals made to the people for the purpose of 
recruiting his army, and he sent the eloquent and popular General Mifflin into Penn- 
sylvania, " to exhort and rouse the militia to come forth in defence of their country." 
In Philadelphia he was very successful, and very soon he was at the head of fifteen 
hundred new recruits, in full march upon Trenton, to join the army under Wash- 
ington. 

* Early in January, 1781, Benedict Arnold, zealous in the cause of his royal 
purchaser, went to Virginia with about sixteen hundred British and tory troops, and 
a few armed vessels. He went up the James river, as far as Richmond, and de- 
stroyed much public and private property, and then returned to Portsmouth. In 
April, he accompanied General Philips up the same river, on a desolating expedition. 
They were joined at Petersburg by Cornwallis, who had invaded the state from North 
Carolina, and who then took the general command. Lafayette was sent into Vir- 
ginia, and manoeuvred skilfully against this " double invasion." He was soon fol- 
lowed by Wayne and Steuben. 

t Toward the close of 1775, British vessels, under the general direction of Lord Dun- 
more, the royal governor of Virginia, who had been compelled to flee from Williams- 
burg, were instrumental in great ravages along the Virginia coast, especially in the 



334 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The foriiesunder Steuben, Lafayette, and subsequently 
Wayne, were too limited in point of numbers, and too 
much straitened for supplies of every sort, to be able to 
check the victorious career of the enemy * Indeed, the 
resources of Virginia, great as they originally were, had 
been sadly reduced in the previous campaign by the 
capture of her veteran regiments on the surrender of 
Charleston,-]- by the total discomfiture at Camden,J but, 

vicinity of the capes. Norfolk was burned, and all along the Elizabeth river, to 
Hampton roads, a vast amount of property, public and private, was destroyed. In 
1779, Sir George Collier, with land troops, under General Mathews, again produced 
preat distress along the shores of the same waters ; and the armed vessels under 
Arnold, in 1781, were no better than pirates. 

* Cornwallis penetrated Virginia beyond Richmond, and destroyed an immense 
amount of property. He sent out marauding parties in every direction, to harass^ 
the inhabitants, and for several weeks the whole state was kept in great alarm. 
Tarleton and Simcoe, active officers, at the head of energetic and well-disciplined 
corps, were busy in all quarters, and Lafayette found it quite impossible to stem 
the torrent of invasion. But when Wayne, with reinforcements, was approaching 
from the north, Cornwallis turned his face seaward, and slowly retreated down the 
peninsula toward Williamsburg. 

t In the spring of 1780, Sir Henry Clinton, having arrived at Charleston with a 
large force, borne by a fleet under Admiral Arbuthnot, invested that city. The 
siege went on for several weeks ; the Americans within the city being under the 
command of General Lincoln. Finally, Cornwallis came with a reinforcement of 
three thousand men. On the ninth of May, a general cannonade from the ships and 
the land batteries commenced, and it was kept up for two days. On the night of 
the eleventh it was perceived that further resistance would be madness. They 
offered to surrender, and on the following day, the army, city, all passed into the 
hands of the conquerors. 

} General Gates was appointed to the command of the southern army, after the 
surrender of Lincoln at Charleston. Cornwallis had been left in the chief command 
of the British in South Carolina, and Sir Henry Clinton had returned to New York. 
In order to make the subjugation of the South complete, the British army, in three 
divisions, marched into the interior, leaving a garrison for Charleston. One divi- 
sion, under Colonel Brown, marched to Augusta, in Georgia; a second, under 
Colonel Cruger, penetrated the country to Ninety-Six, in Western Carolina ; and a 
third, under Lord Rawdon, took post at Camden. Toward the latter place Gates 
approached, early in August. He resolved to fall upon Rawdon on the night of 
the fifteenth of August, and marched from his camp confident of success, for that 
purpose. At the same time, Cornwallis (who had hastened to Camden on hearing 



il 



THOMAS NELSON. 335 

above all, by the enormous depreciation of the paper 
money ; all which causes combined to elevate the hopes 
of the enemy, and cast a shadow over those of the 
friends, of American liberty. To such a wretched state 
of depreciation had the paper money arrived at this 
period, that, in numberless instances, persons were known 
to have concealed their horses and oxen in the woods 
and swamps rather than hire them to the transportation 
department of the army, when the hire was to be ac- 
counted for in continental bills, which had become almost 
valueless.* 

of the approach of Gates) and Rawdon, informed of Gates's movement, marched 
northward to fall upon the Americans. The sand was deep, the footfalls were un- 
heard, and the belligerents met in the dark, at Sanders' Creek. The next morning 
a severe battle ensued, the Americans were completely routed, and another southern 
army was lost. 

* After the Congress had recognised the troops at Boston as a continental army, 
in June, 1775, it became necessary to provide money for its support. Specie suf- 
ficient could not be had, and they resorted to the issue of bills of credit. These 
emissions were made from time to time, as the wants of the public service demanded, 
and for a while all went on well. But it was soon found that it would be difficult, 
if not impossible, for the Congress to provide means for their redemption in specie, 
as promised upon their face, and they began to depreciate. The last emission was 
early in 1780, and at the close of that year they were almost worthless. At that 
time the enormous sum of two hundred millions of dollars had been issued. The 
following table shows the scale of depreciation : — 

Value of $100 in Specie in Continental Money. 

777. 1778. 1779. 1780. 1781. 

January $105 $325 $742 $2934 $7400 

February 107 350 868 3322 7500 

March 109 370 1000 3736 0000 

April 112 400 1104 4000 



May 115 400 1215 4600. 

June 120 400 1342 6400. 

July 125 425 1477 8900. 

August 150 450 1630 7000. 

September 175 475 1800 7100. 

October 275 500 2030 7200. 

November 300 545 2308 7300. 

December 310 634 2593 7400. 



336 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Here the patriotic Nelson set a noble example; his 
crops were left to their fate, his ploughs left in the fur- 
rows, while the teams were harnessed to the cannon and 
munitions of war moving to the investment of Yorktown. 
From his personal virtues, he had the most commanding 
influence in the state ; he exerted it in rallying her sons, 
when a powerful foe invaded her soil. His weight of 
character enabled him to unlock the coffers of avarice, 
and give their hoards to the aid of his country, when 
that country had neither a dollar in her treasury, nor 
credit to obtain one. ■ 

At the ever-memorable siege of Yorktown * Governor! 
Nelson rendered important services in blockading the" 
enemy previous to the arrival of the combined army and 
the fleets of France. It was on the venerable Lafayette's 
last visit to Mount Yernon, in 1825, that he related to 
the author of these Memoirs a touching anecdote of 
Governor Nelson, which we shall give in the good Gen- 
eral's own words: "I had just finished a battery," said 
the nation's guest, "mounted with heavy pieces; but 
before I opened on the town, I requested the attendance 
of the governor of Yirginia, not only as a compliment 
due to the chief magistrate of the state in which I was 
serving, but from his accurate knowledge of the localitie:^ 
of a place in which he had spent the greater part of his 
life. 'To what particular spot would your excellency 
direct that we should point the cannon,' I asked. 
'There,' promptly replied the noble-minded, patriotic 
Nelson, ' to that house ; it is mine, and is, now that the 
secretary's is nearly knocked to pieces, the best one in 
the town ; and there you will be almost certain to find 

* Sec chapter vi. 



THOMAS NELSON. 337 

Lord Cornwallis and the British headquarters. Fire 
upon it, my dear marquis, and never spare a particle of 
my property so long as it affords a comfort or a shelter 
to the enemies of my country.' The governor then 
rode away, leaving us all charmed with an instance of 
devotional patriotism that would have shed a lustre upon 
the purest ages of Grecian or Roman virtue."'^ 

Another anecdote we will present to our readers ere 
we close this brief memoir. " During the campaign of 
1781, when the ruined state of the finances had caused 
everything like hard money to have almost entirely 
disappeared, Nelson learned that an old Scotchman named 

R , had a considerable sum in gold, which, like most 

other moneyed persons of that period, he kept carefully 
concealed. The governor waited upon the man of gold, 
a rara avis in those times, and begged and prayed for a 

loan on behalf of the state. R was inexorable, saying, 

' I ken naething of your goovernment, but if ye wull ha' 
the siller for youself, general, de'il take me but every 
bawbee of it is at your service.' Nelson accepted the 
offer, and obtained on his own bond, and by his own pex- 
sonal influence, a loan for the state of Virginia, when 
that prominent state had neither a coin in her treasury, 
nor credit to obtain one. The governor received the 

* When I visited Yorktown a few years ago, Governor Nelson's house was yet 
standing, and was occupied by his grandson. It was a large, two storied brick 
building, fronting the main street of the town, a short distance from the river bank. 
It bore many scars of the cannonade and bombardment alluded to in the text ; and 
in the yard, in front, lay an unexploded bombshell, cast there at the time of the 
siege. A few feet from the door, was a fine laurel tree, from whose boughs a hand- 
some civic wreath was made, on the occasion of Lafayette's visit there in 1824. The 
wreath was placed upon the brow of the nation's guest, when he instantly removed 
it, and laid it upon that of Colonel Nicholas Fish, of the Revolution, who accompa- 
nied him, remarking that no one was better entitled to wear the mark of honor 
than he. 

22 



338 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

gold, and quickly did its circulation give a new and 
cheering aspect to our destinies at that momentous 
period." 

And now, it would be naturally asked, who paid the 
bond and its accumulated interest? Posterity would 
answer, a grateful and admiring country, surely. Say, 
rather, the impoverished family of the patriot. This, 
with other facts of equal moment, caused the author of 
these Memoirs to blush for his country, when, during the 
triumph of Lafayette, and upon his last visit to Mount 
Vernon, the veteran introduced the subject of Nelson, 
spoke in the most ardent and enthusiastic terms of his 
gallant services, untiring patriotism, and his unexampled 
and devotional sacrifices for the cause of American In- 
dependence ; and presumed that a grateful and admiring 
nation had long since rewarded the descendants of his 
old companion-in-arms, his beloved and bosom friend. 

It will be matter of interest to all future ages of the 
Republic, to learn who of the many worthies that flour- 
ished in the age of Washington were nearest to the 
heart of the Pater Patriae. All tradition will agree upon 
Greene and Robert Morris. But if they were in the 
heart's core of the chief, as assuredly they were. Nelson, 
of Virginia, was at their side. Beloved in life, Washing- 
ton showed his esteem for Nelson's memory by appoint- 
ing the son, named after the sire, as one of the secreta- 
ries to the first president of the United States, on the 
commencement of the federal government in 1789. 

Such was Nelson, of Virginia, who, in times that tried 
men's souls, pledged for his country in the halls of her 
Independence, his life, and perilled it in her battle-fields; 
pledged his fortune, and lavished it in his country's 



THOMAS NELSON. 339 

cause ; pledged his sacred honor, and redeemed it by a 
hfe and actions honored among the most honored.* 

Such was a patriot, statesman, and soldier of the 
iimerican Revolution — the admired of his countrymen, 
the beloved of Washington and Lafayette — whose re- 
spected descendants have appealed, in the name of the 
services and sacrifices of their ancestor, to the justice and 
magnanimity of a free, powerful, and prosperous empire. 

Having lived to witness the consummation of that In- 
dependence, the declaration of Avhich his pen had signed, 
and achievements for which his sword had earned, he 
closed his eyes in peace, leaving a very numerous family, 
and a fortune greatly impaired, by the vast sacrifices he 
had made for American liberty. And will the American 
reader believe, that the widow of such a patriot and such 
a man, lives in Virginia — that very Virginia on which 
the name and character of Nelson sheds unfading lustre 
— that this venerable relict, now on the verge of human 
life, blind and poor, has yet to learn whether an emanci- 
pated country can be just, more than forty years not 
having sufficed to show them, whether it can be grateful.-^ 

* Governor Nelson was a member of the continental Congress in 1776, and 
signed the Declaration of Independence. He occupied a seat in that body during 
the first half of the war; and in 1781, he was elected governor of Virginia. Because 
he exercised his prerogative, as governor of the state, in impressing men into the 
military service, on the occasion of the siege of Yorktown, many influential persons 
were offended, and many mortal enemies were created. But he outlived all the 
attacks of malice, and died on the fourth of January, 1789, in the fiftieth year of his 
age. His i-emains, with many others of his family, jrepose in the old churchyard at 
Yorktown. 

t This sketch was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the third of 
March. 1836. 



340 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XV. 

ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 

BiRTUPLACE OF HAMILTON — IIlS EAKLT EDUCATION — G0B3 TO NeW ToRK AND SNTEKS 

King's College — Becomes a Political Writer -while in College — Prediction con- 
cerning THE Cotton Plant — Estimate of his Cuakaotek by the Sons of Liberty — 
An Artillery Company formed — His ready Sacrifice — His Views previous to tub 
Battle on Long Island —Anonymous Letter — Hamilton at Brunswick — Interview 
WITH Washington — Hamilton and Laurens — Washington in his Tent — Hamilton 
at Monmouth — Eupture between Washington and Hamilton — Hamilton at York- 
town — He Studies Law — Becomes a Legislator — Member of the Federal Con- 
vention OP 17S7 — His Zeal — Hamilton appointed Secretary of the Treasury — 
Morris's Opinion of him — Gallatin's Eulooium — Retirement to Private Life — 
Anecdote — Hamilton's Prediction. 

In the illustrious Alexander Hamilton were united the 
patriot, the soldier, the statesman, the jurist, the orator, 
and philosopher, and he was great in them all. Born in 
the island of Nevis, the first rudiments of his education 
were obtained in Santa Cruz, from which, at a very early 
age, he came to America, and completed his studies at 
Columbia college, in New York/=- In that city the 
Revolution found the young West Indian engaged in his 

* At that time, and up to the close of the Revolution, it was called King's col- 
lege, the title by which it was incorporated by George the Second. Young Hamil- 
ten came to New York in the year 1772, and soon afterward prepared for college, 
This preparation occupied a year, and he was about to enter the college at Prince- 
ton, when some of its rules not meeting his views, he entered King's college, 
in the city of New York. The Reverend Myles Cooper, D. D , was tlie president, 
having succeeded Doctor Johnson in 1763. At the very beginning, young Hamil- 
ton was marked as an extraordinary youth. He was between sixteen and seventeen 
years of age when he entered that institution. 



I 



ALEXAJJDER HA31ILT0N. 341 

collegiate studies, and he left the halls of learning for 
the camp. 

Among the efforts then making in behalf of the royal 
cause in New York, were a series of able essays, published 
with a view to alarm the patriots as to a rupture with 
the mother-country, urging that, in such an event, all 
supplies of clothing would be withheld, and thus the most 
serious j)i"ivations be endured by the colonists * Young 
Hamilton wrote a powerful reply to these essays, in 
which he proved that resources abounded in the country ; 
and then, for the first time in the world, it was left for 
this precocious genius to predict that the cotton-plant could 
and ivoiild be grown in the southern colonies, and woidd yield an 
abundance of the raiu material for the suppli/ of our tvants.'f 

* These essays were written chiefly by clergymen of the Church of England. 
Among them were Doctor Cooper of the college, Samuel Seabury (afterward a New 
England bishop), Doctor Charles Inglis, Doctor Snmuel Auchmuty, and Doctor 
Chandler. John Holt, who published a warm whig newspaper, had drawn upon 
himself the invectives of all the ministerial writers ; and these, at first, Hamilton 
burlesqued in doggerel rhyme, with great wit and humor. But afterward, when the 
aspect of affairs became more serious, he replied to them with irresistible logic. 
Among the most able of these was his "Eull Vindication of the Measures of Con- 
gress from the Calumnies of their Enemies," &c., written in December, 1774, in 
reply to Seabury, who wrote over the signature of " A Westchester Farmer," he 
being a clergyman in that county at the time. 

t See Hamilton's replies to the " Westchester Farmer" (Mr. Seabury), Hamilton's 
works, vol. ii., first and second articles. In the second, " The Farmer Refuted," 
he says, " with respect to cotton, you do not pretend to deny that a sufficient quan- 
tity of that might be produced. Several of the southern colonies are so favorable to 
it, that with due cultivation, in a couple of years, they would afford enough to clothe 
the whole continent." It must be remembered that at the time this was written, 
the growth of cotton in the colonies was a mere experiment, and only men of far- 
seeing discernment, like this extraordinary young man, then dreamed of its becom- 
ing one of our great staples. It was not until twenty years afterward, when Whit- 
ney's cotton-gin produced a new epoch in our commercial history, that the annual 
product of cotton in all North America became a considerable item in our statistics 
of production. Up to that time, it was only cultivated for family use in the South. 
It is true that seven bags of cotton were sent to Europe from Charleston, as early 



342 RECOLLECTI0^'S OF WASHINGTON. 

The troubles increasing, Mr. Hamilton spoke of revisit- 
ino" the West Indies, with a view to recruit his finances. 
This the patriots of New York would not hear of for a 
moment ; they had Avitnessed the powers of his pen, and 
wished him to try the temper of his sword. " Well, my 
friends," said the gallant youth, " if you are determined 
that I shall remain among you, and take part in your 
just and holy cause, you must raise for me a full com- 
pany of artillery." This was done, and Captain Hamil- 
ton lost no time in enlisting the services of several ve1> 
eran artillerists, and, by constant drilling, soon brought 
his company into a very high state of order and dis- 
cipline.'^' 

Hamilton was in New York, diligently engaged in his 
military duties when the Asia, Captain Vandeput, fired 
upon the city.f Retreat becoming necessary, Hamilton 

as 1747, and two thousand pounds more in 1770, four years before Hamilton wrote. 
It is a remarkable fact, that when, ten years after he wrote (1784), seventy-one bags 
were shipped, they were seized by the British government, on tlie ground that 
America could not produce an amount so great. 

* Hamilton had already joined a volunteer corps, commanded by Captain Flem- 
ing, formerly an adjutant in the British service, and an exact disciplinarian. Under 
his command he acquired considerable knowledge of the rudiments of a military 
education. They assumed the name of " Hearts of Oak," and they exercised every 
morning, before the hour for study or recitation at the college, in the churchyard of 
St. Gforgu's cliapcl, in Beekman street. Tiieir uniforms were green, and on their 
leathern caps was the inscription "Freedom or Death." In March, 1776, Hamil- 
ton became captain of artillery in a New York regiment. In the summer following. 
General Greene's attention was one day arrested, as he was crossing " The Fields" 
(now City Hall park), by the able movements of a company of artillery, com- 
manded by a mere youth. It was Hamilton. Greene conversed with him a few 
minutes, and discovered evidences of extraordinary ability. He invited him to 
bis quarters, cultivated his acquaintance, and introduced him afterward to Wash- 
ington. 

t That was in August, 1775. The Asia was a British sliip-of-war that lay in the 
harbor of New York to overawe the Sons of Liberty, as the whigs were called. At 
that time, the re|)ublican movements in New York v/ero guided by a committee of 



ALEXANDER HAMILTOJ^. 343 

here displayed that noble disinterestedness and disregard 
of self that adorned all the subsequent actions, whether 
public or private, of his illustrious life. A cart, drawn 
bv a single horse, contained the baggage of this young 
officer. He ordered his baggage to be abandoned, and 
the horse tliat drew it to be harnessed to the cannon/^ 

Hamilton's military talents were apparent in very 
early life. Previous to the battle of Long Island, he 
crossed over to Brooklyn, and thencQ, by examining the 
positions of the American forces with a military eye, he 
became convinced that with such materials as composed 
the American army, a conflict with troops which con- 
sisted of all soldiers would be hopeless of success. Filled 
with these ideas, Hamilton addressed an anonymous letter 
to the commander-in-chief, detailing many and forcible 
arguments against risking an action, and warmly recom- 
mending a retreat to the strong grounds of the main- 
One Hundred. Governor Tryon's course was so decidedly hostile to the Sons of 
Liberty, and war now appeared so inevitable, that the committee of One Hundred 
determined to remove the cannon from the grand battery to a place of safety, for 
their own use. Captain John Lamb was directed to perform the act, assisted by his 
own artillery company, and an independent corps under Colonel Lasher ; and, with a 
body of citizens led by Isaac Sears (better known as King Sears), he proceeded to the 
work on the evening of the twenty-third of August. Captain Vandeput of the Asia 
had been informed of the intended movement, and sent a barge filled with armed men 
to watch the patriots. These were fired upon, when Vandeput opened his ports, and 
hurled three round shot into the city, spreading great alarm among the iniiabitants. 
The church bells were then rung, and soon a broadside came from the Asia. Terror 
filled the people, but the sturdy whigs removed every gun, in face of the cannonade. 
Hamilton was among the actors, at the head of fifteen of the college students. They 
carried two of the six-pound cannon to the college green and buried them, in spite 
of the menaces of Dr. Cooper. These stood at the gateway of the college until it 
was demolished in 1856. 

* In this the author evidently alludes to the retreat from the lines at Brooklyn, 
a year later, after the disastrous battle there, when the whole American army with- 
drew across the East river, to New York, under cover of the night and a dense fog 
in the mornins:. 



344 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

land. The letter created no little surprise in the mind 
of the general, but it was mixed with respect for the 
talent displa^^ed by the writer. The disastrous battle of 
Long Island is matter of history .=^ 

Hamilton's artillery joined the American army, and 
took part in the memorable retreat through the Jerseys.f 
It was at the passage of the Raritan, near Brunswick, 
that Hamilton first attracted the notice of the com- 
mander-in-chief, who, while posted on the river bank, and I 
contemplating with anxiety the passage of the troops, 
was charmed by the brilliant courage and admirable skill . 
displaj^ed by a young officer of artillery, who directed a } 
battery against the enemy's advanced columns that ' 
pressed upon the Americans in their retreat by the ford. J 
The general ordered Lieutenant-Colonel Fitzgerald, his 
aid-de-camp, to ascertain who this young officer was, and 
bid him repair to headquarters at the first halt of the 
army. 

At the interview that ensued, Washington quickly 

* This occurred on the twenty-seventh of August, 177G. The British and Hes- 
sian troops landed from Staten Island, near the present Fort Hamilton, on Long 
Island, and marching up, attacked the Americans, a large portion of whom were 
quite strongly intrenched near Brooklyn. About five hundred Americans were 
killed or wounded in the engagement, and eleven hundred were made prisoners. 

t A combined force of British and Hessians attacked Fort Washington toward 
the u])per end of York island, and captured it on the sixteenth of November. More 
than two thousand Americans were made prisoners. Washington, witli a large 
portion of the American army, was in the vicinity of Fort Lee, on the Jersey 8hon», 
nearly opposite. Two days afterward, Lord Cornwallis, with six thousand troops, 
crossed the Hudson to attack Washington. Fort Lee was abandoned, and for three 
weeks the Americans fled before the British across New Jersey, toward tlie Dela- 
ware. 

J Washington hoped to make a successful stand at Brunswick, but Iiis army was 
rapidly dissolving, and was not strong enough to risk an engagement. While the 
broken army was retreating from the village, Hamilton, with his field-pieces planted 
on the highest ground there, effectually checked the advance of the enemy, and gave 
Washington time to get the start by several hours. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 345 

discovered in the young patriot and warrior those emi- 
nent quahties of the head and heart that shed such a 
renown upon the actions of his after Hfe. From that 
interview Washington " marked him for his own." 

The American commander-in-chief was pecuharlj happy 
in the selection of the officers of his mihtary family, of 
his guard, &c., save in a solitary instance, and in that 
instance the individual served but for a very short time.* 
The members of the military family and of the Life- 
Guard were gentlemen of the first order in intellect, 
patriotism, and all right soldierly qualities — they were 
attached to the chief and to each other. Hamilton and 
Laurens were kindred spirits, brothers alike in arms, in 
affection, and in accomplishments, and might be styled 
the preiix chevaliers of the American army. 

LieutenantrColonel Hamilton was at the side of the 
chief during the most eventful periods of the Revolution- 
ary war. In the memorable campaigns of 1777 and 
1778, the habit at the headquarters was for the general 
to dismiss his officers at a very late hour of the night to 
snatch a little repose, while he, the man of mighty labors, 
drawing his cloak around him, and trimming his lamp, 
would throw himself upon a hard couch, not to sleep, but 
to think. Close to his master (wrapped in a blanket, 
but "all accoutred" for instant service) snored the stout 
yet active form of Billi/, the celebrated body-servant 
during the whole of the Revolutionary war,-|- 

At this late lone hour silence reigned in the head- 
quarters, broken only by the measured pacing of the 

* Colonel Aaron Burr. He was in Washing-ton's military family at the close of 
June, 1776, and entered that of General Putnam earlj' in July, 
t See page 157. 



346 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

sentinels, and the oftrrepeated cry of " all's well ;" when 
suddenly the sound of a horse-tramp, at speed, is borne ^ 
upon the night wind, then the challenging of the guard, 
and the passing the word of an express from the lines to I 
the commander-in-chief The despatches being opened 
and read, there would be heard in the calm deep tones 
of that voice, so well remembered by the good and the 
brave in the old days of our country's trial, the command 
of the chief to his now watchful attendant, " Call Colonel 
Humiltoii r 

The remarkable conduct of the aid-de-camp during the 
exciting interview of Washington and Major-General 
Lee, on the field of Monmouth, as has been related in 
another part of this work, caused no little sensation in 
the army at that time. It was indeed a generous burst I 
of enthusiasm, emanating from a noble and gallant spirit, 
that, pure in its own devotion to the cause of liberty, 
viewed with indignation and abhorrence even the sus- 
picion of treachery in another. It is somewhat singular 
that there were several distinguished officers of the 
American army, who, judging from events at the close of 
the campaign of 1776, anticipated some defection on the 
part of Lee, on his return from captivit}^, and rejoining 
his former colors; yet it was left for a member of a 
different cloth from the military to give the first alarm 
to the commander-in-chief on this momentous subject.* 

From a difficulty that occurred in 1780, Lieutenant- 
Colonel Hamilton retired from the headquarters and 
assumed his rank in the line, in the command of a batr 
talion of lightrinfantry, then the crack corps of the army.t 

* See chapter v. Also note on page 292. 
t See note on page 241. 



ALEX^iNDER ILVMILTON. 347 

With this command he marched to the South in 1781. 
At the siege of Yorktown, it was determined to storm 
the two advanced redoubts of the enemy, and the selec- 
tion of officers and men for this daring achievement was 
intrusted to Major-General the Marquis de Lafayette. 
The marquis lost no time in choosing as the officer who 
was to lead the assault Lieutenant-Colonel Gimat, a gal- 
lant Frenchman, who had been attached to the marquis's 
military family.* Hamilton, belonging to the division 
of lightrinfantry commanded by Lafayette, was about to 
prefer his claim, when his warmest friends and admirers 
dissuaded him, owing, as they said, to the vast influences 
in favor of the Frenchman, from the presence of a 
splendid French fleet and army, and the universal desire 
of doing every possible honor to our generous and gal- 
lant allies. Hamilton observed, " I am aware that I have 
mighty influences to contend with, but I feel assured that 
Washington is inflexibly just. I will not urge my claim 
on the plea of my long and faithful services, co-eval with 
nearly the whole war ; I will only plead my rank." He 
accordingly repaired to headquarters. The general re- 
ceived his former and favorite aid-de-camp with great 
cordiality and kindness, listened patiently to his repre- 
sentations, and finally granted his claims; and Lieutenant- 
Colonel Hamilton, in the presence of three armies, led the 
assault on the redoubt on the night of the memorable 
fourteenth of October, with a brilliancy of courage and 
success that could not be surpassed.^ 
As the Americans mounted the works, the cry of the 

* Colonel Gimat was Lafayette's chief aid-de-camp. He was with the marquis 
at the Brandywine, and helped to bear his wounded general from the field, 
t See page 240. 



348 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

soldiers was, "Remember New London!" alluding to the 
cruel massacre of the American troops at Fort Griswold 
the year before. AVhen the redoubt was carried, thil 
vanquished Britons fell on their knees, momently ex- 
pecting the exterminating bayonet ; but not a man was 
injured, when no longer resisting. For Hamilton, who 
commanded, and Lieutenant-Colonel Laurens, who par- 
ticipated as a volunteer on this brilliant occasion, courage 
and mercy have entwined a wreath of laurel that will 
never fade.* 

Shortly after the surrender of Yorktown, Colonel Ham- 
ilton retired from the army, preserving his rank, but 
declining all 'pay or emolument, and commenced the study 
of the law. He was chosen to a seat in the continental 
Congress on the twenty-second of July, 1782, where he 
remained about a year. While a member of that bod}', 
he wrote a series of essays of great ability, showing the 
defects of the old system of government, and recom- 
mending a convention with a view to an entirely new 
constitution, government, and laws.f He was elected a 

* This is mentioned in the text on page 241, and commented upon in a note on 
page 242, which see. 

t This proposition for a general convention was submitted to the legislature of 
New York, before his election to the continental Congress. He had written a serits 
of essays on public matters for Loudon's New York Packet, printed at Fishkill, in 
Duchess county, under the general title of The Continentalist, in which the defects 
of the Articles of Confederation were ably discussed; and finally he brought the sul)- 
ject before the state legislature, then in session at Poughkeepsie. Tiiat body, on | 
Sunday.the twenty-first of July, 1782, passed a series of resolutions, in the last of which | 
it was remarked, that "it is essential to the common welfare, that there should bo | 
as soon as possible, a conference of the whole on the subject, and that it would l>e 1 
advisable for this purpose to propose to Congress to recommend, and to each 'state 
to adopt, the measure of assembling a general convention of the states, 
specially authorized to revive and amend the confederation, reserving the riL'ht 
to the respective legislatures to ratify their determination." On the following day 
the legislature chose James Duane, William Floyd, John Morin Scott, EzraL'Hom 
medieu, and Alexander Ilamilton, delegates to the continental Congress. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 349 

member of the convention of 1787, and was one of the 
brightest stars in that constellation of patriots and states- 
men that formed the present happy constitution of the 
United States.* 

Hamilton's labors by no means ended with the conven- 
tion of 1787. It required all his zeal and eloquence to 
stem the torrent of opposition from Governor Clinton 
and others, up to the time of the final adoption of the 
constitution by the state of New York.-j- 

In 1789, when the first president was on his way to 
the seat of the new government, he stopped in Phila- 
delphia at the house of Robert Morris, and while consult- 
ing with that eminent patriot and benefactor of America, 
as to the members of the first cabinet, Washington ob- 
served, "The treasury, Morris, will of course be your 
berth. After your invaluable services as financier of the* 
Revolution, no one can pretend to contest the office of 
secretary of the treasury with you." Robert Morris 
respectfully but firmly declined the appointment, on the 
ground of his private affairs, and then said, " But, my 
dear general, you will be no loser by my declining the 

* The recommendation of the legislature of New York, in 1782, on Hamilton's 
suggestion, was finally carried out in 1787. In May of that year, delegates from all 
the states, except New Hampshire and Vermont, assembled at Philadelphia. 
Washington was a delegate from Virginia ; and on motion of Robert Morris, he was 
chosen president of the convention. On the twelfth of September following, the 
present Constitution of the United States (except a few amendments since) was 
adopted. 

tin the year 1788, when the Federal Constitution was before the people of the 
several states for consideration, it met with much opposition. This opposition, 
which at one time promised to prevent its ratification by a majority of the states, 
was ably met by a series of articles from the pens of Hamilton, Madison, and Jay, 
since collected under the general title of The Federalist. Of the eighty-five numbers 
which compose The Federalist, Hamilton wrote fifty-one, Madison twenty-nme, and 
Jay five. 



350 EECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

secretarysliip of the treasury, for I can recommend to' 
you a for cleverer fellow than I am for your minister of 
finance, in the person of your former aid-de-camp, Colonel 
Hamilton." The president was amazed, and continued, 
" I always knew Colonel Hamilton to be a man of supe- 
rior talents, but never supposed that he had any knowl- 
edge of finance." To which Morris replied, " He knows 
everything, sir ; to a mind like his nothing comes nmiss." 
Robert Morris, indeed, had had ample proofs of Hamil- 
ton's talents in financial matters, the financier having re-fj 
ceived from the soldier many and important suggestions, 
plans, and estimates touching the organization and es- ^ j 
tablishment of the bank of North America, in 1780.'^ * ' 

Thus did Alexander Hamilton, from amid the stirring 
duties of a camp, devote the vast and varied powers of 
his mind to the organization of a system of finance, as' 
connected with banking operations, that proved of inesti- 
mable service to the cause of the Revolution. 

Washington hesitated not a moment in making the 
appointment of secretary of the treasury agreeably to 
the recommendation of Morris ; for assuredly there was 

* In May, 1781, Mr. Morris submitted to Conj^ress a plan for a national bank, 
with a capital of four hundred thousand dollars. Congress approved of the plan, 
offered to incorporate the subscribers by the name of the President and Directors of 
iho Bank of North America, and decreed that the bills should be receivable in pay- 
ment of all taxes, duties, and debts due the United States. This bank, the first in 
the United States, went into successful operation in December, 1781. It greatly 
assisted in the restoration of the credit of the government, and was of efficient service 
in the financial affairs of the country during the remainder of the war. To secure 
the public confidence for the bank, there was a subscription among the citizens in 
the form of bonds obliging them to pay, if it should become necessary, in gold and 
silver, the amounts annexed to their names, to fulfil the engagements of the bank 
As we have elsewhere observed, Mr. Morris headed the list with fifty thousand dol- 
lars. There were ninety-six subscribers who gave their bonds. Their names may 
bo seen in the Pennsylvania Packet, June, 1781. 



ALEXANDER HAMILTON. 351 

none, no, not one of the many worthies of the Revolution 
who stood higher in the esteem, or approached nearer to 
the heart of the chief than Eobert Morris, the noble and 
generous benefactor of America in the darkest hours of 
her destiny. 

On the very day of the interesting event we have just 
related, Mr. Dallas met Hamilton in the street and ad- 
dressed him with, " Well, colonel, can joii tell me who 
will be the members of the cabinet V — " Reall}^, m}^ dear 
sir, replied the colonel, " I can not tell you who will, but 
I can very readily tell you of one who will not be of the 
number, and that one is your humble servant." He had 
not, at that moment, the remotest idea that Washington 
had again in peace, as in war, " marked him for his own." 

The very best eulogimn that can be pronounced upon 
the fiscal department of the United States, as organized 
by Alexander Hamilton, is in the remarks of the Hon. 
Albert Gallatin, a political rival, and the most distin- 
guished financier of the successors of the first secretary 
of the treasury. Mr. Gallatin has magnanimously de- 
clared that all secretaries of the treasury of the United 
States, since the first, enjoyed a sinecure, the genius and 
labors of Hamilton having created and arranged every- 
thing that was requisite and necessary for the successful 
operation of the department.* 

In January, 1795, Hamilton resigned his seat in the 

* Mr. Gallatin was a native of Geneva, Switzerland, and came to America in 
1780, at the age of eighteen years. He was a relative of M. Necker, the celebrated 
French minister of finance. He entered the continental army, and at the close, set- 
tled in Pennsylvania. He was chosen a member of Congress in 1793, and in 1801 
Mr. Jefferson called him to his cabinet as secretary of the treasury. He remained 
m that office until 1813, when he became a special envoy to negotiate for peace with 
Great Britain. He represented our government in France from 1816 until 1823. 
He died in 1849 at the age of more than eighty-eight years. 



352 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

cabinet and retired to private life. It was our good for- 
tune to be ahnost domesticated in the family of this great 
man, and to see and know much of him in the olden 
time. Among the many and imposing recollections of 
the great age of the Republic that are graven upon our 
memory, and, mellowed by time, cheer by their venera- 
ble and benign influences our evening of life, we call up 
with peculiar pleasure a reminiscence of the days of the 
first presidency embracing the resignation of Hamilton. 
It was at the presidential mansion that the ex-sec- 
retary of the treasury came into the room where Mr. 
Lear,'^ Major Jackson,-]- and the other gentlemen of the 
president's family were sitting. With the usual smile 
upon his countenance he observed : " Congratulate me, 
my good friends, for I am no longer a public man ; the 
president has at length consented to accept my resigna- 
tion, and I am once more a private citizen." The gentle- I 
men replied that they could perceive no cause for rejoicing 
in an event that would deprive the government and the 
country of the late secretary's valuable services. Ham- 
ilton continued : '■'• I am not worth exceeding five hundred dol- 
lars in the world ; my slender fortune and the best years of my 
life have been devoted to the service of my adoijted country ; a 
rising family hath its claims." Glancing his eye upon a 
small book that lay on the table, he took it up and ob- 
served : " Ah, this is the constitution. Now, mark my 
words : So long as we are a young and virtuous people, this in- 
strument ivill hind us together in mutual interests, mutual tvelf are, 
and mutual happi7iess ; bid when tve become old and corrupt it 
will bind us no hngerV 

* Tobias Lear, Washington's private secretary. 

t Major William Jackson, one of the president's military aids. 



ALEX.VNDER HA^MILTON. 353 

Such were the prophetic words of Alexander Hamilton, 
uttered half a century ago, and in the very dawn of our 
existence as a nation. Let the Americans write them in 
their books and treasure them in their hearts. Another 
half century, and they may be regarded as truths-^-"" 

What a spectacle does this touching reminiscence pre- 
sent to the Americans and their posterity ! A great man 
of the Revolution, the native of a foreign isle, who had 
employed his pen and drawn his sword in the cause of 
liberty before a beard had grown upon his chin; re- 
nowned alike in senates and in the field, in the halls of 
legislation and the "ranks of death," proudly acknow- 
ledging his honorable poverty, the result of his many and 
glorious services, and resigning one of the highest and 
most dignified offices in the government, to retire as a pri- 
vate citizen to labor for the support of a rising family. 

Of a truth, upon the Roman model, aye, and that of the 
purest and palmiest days of the mistress of the ancient 
world, were formed the patriots, statesmen, and warriors 
of the American Revolution. Worthy, indeed, are they 
to be ranked with the purest and noblest models of an- 
cient virtue and heroism, whom generations yet unborn 
will hail as the fathers of liberty and founders of an em- 
pire. 

With these reminiscences, endeared to us by many 
venerable associations of our other days, and which we 
I offer as an humble tribute to the fame and memory of 
him who was a master-spirit among the great and re- 
nowned that adorned the age of Washington, we close 
' our brief memoir. 

I 

jl * This was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty fourth of 
Ij February, 1845, 

23 



354 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

HENRY LEE. 

Washington's Sagacity in his Selection of Officers — His Favouites — Birth or Lee — 
Anecdote op Lee at Princeton — His Person — He Joins the Army — His Exploit at 
Paulus' Hook — Commander of a Partisan Corps — His Qualifications — His Corps — 
His Officers — His Services under Greene — Retirement from the Army — His Mar- 
riage — His Civil Career — The 'WnreKEY Insurrection — Pinckney's Remarks — Lee's 
Oration on the Death of Washington — His Speculations and Losses — His Death 
— His Eloquence in Speech and Readiness as a Writer. 

That Washington was eminently fortunate, and showed 
his rare and penetrating judgment of mankind, in his 
selections of officers, as well for important commands, as 
for members of his military family, we may leani from 
the history of our olden times. Among many senior 
worthies, the illustrious names of Greene, Wayne, and 
Morgan, claim prominent rank, while of the young aspir- 
ants in arms, whom the chief may be said to have ushered 
to fame, were Lafayette, Hamilton, Pinckney, Laurens, 
and Lee. To these, how many more might be added, 
on whom the meritrdiscerning eye of the chief was well- 
known to have beamed with peculiar esteem and favor ; 
a.s William Washington* — a namesake, but more related 

* William Washington was called "the modern Marcellus," "the sword of his 
country," and other names indicative of his soldierly qualities. He was a son of 
Bailey Washington, of Stafford county, Virginia, where he was born, on the twenty, 
eiglith of February, 1752. He was educated for the church, but was led into the 
field of politics at the beginning of the Revolution. He entered the army as captain 
under Colonel (afterward General) Hugh Mercer, and was first in battle on Long 
Island. He distinguished himself at Trenton, and was with Merce ■ when he fell ai 



HENRY LEE.. 6oo 

by glory, than lineage — the gallant, gay, Otho Williams,* 
Watty Stewartjf Cadwalacler,J and many, many others. 
Om' purjDose is, to attempt a brief memoir of Lee. 

Princeton. He was promoted to major in Colonel Ba3'lor's cavalry corps, and was 
with him when General Gray made his murderous attack upon the corps at Tappan, 
in 1778. The following year he joined the army under Lincoln, at the South,, and 
was very active as commander of horse, in the vicinity of Charleston, during the 
siege in 1780. He became attached to the division of General Morgan, and fought 
bravely with him at the Cowpens. For his valor there. Congress voted him a silver 
medal. He accompanied Greene in his celebrated retreat, and again fought bravely 
at Guilford courthouse. At Hobkirk's hill and Eutaw he behaved gallantly. At 
the latter place he was made prisoner, and was a captive till the close of the war. 
While in captivity at Charleston, he became attached to a young lady there, married 
her, ahd settled in Charleston. He became conspicuous as a legislator, but declined 
being a candidate for governor, chieflj' because he could not make a speech. General 
Washington, in 1798, chose Colonel Washington to be one of his staff, with the 
rank of brigadier. He died on the sixth of March, 1810. 

* Otho Holland Williams was born in Prince George county, Maryland, in 1748. 
His ancestors were Welsh, and came to America soon after Lord Baltimore became 
proprietor of the province of Maryland. He was left an orphan at twelve years of 
age. He was a resident of Frederick county when the war of the Revolution began, 
where he entered the military service as lieutenant of a rifle corps under Colonel 
Michael Cresap, and with that officer he went to Boston. He was afterward pro- 
moted to the command of his company. In 1776 he was promoted to major, and 
fought at Fort Washington with distinction. In that engagement he was wounded 
and captured, and for some time experienced tlie horrors of the pi-ovost prison of 
New York. He was afterward exchanged fot Major Ackland, captured at Saratoga. 
During his captivity, he was appointed to the command of a regiment in the Mary- 
land line. He was Gates's adjutant-general during the campaign of 1780. When 
Gates collected the remnant of his army, scattered at Camden, the Marylanders 
were formed into two battalions, constituting one regiment. To Williams was 
assigned the command, with John Eager Howard as his lieutenant. When Greene 
assumed the command of the southern army, he perceived the value of Williams, 
and appointed him adjutant-general. In Greene's memorable retreat, and the sub- 
sequent battle of Guilford, Williams greatly distinguished himself; and at Eutaw 
Springs he led the celebrated charge which swept the field and gained the temporary 
victory. Congress promoted him to the rank of brigadier ; and at the close of the 
war he received the appointment of collector of customs at Baltimore, which office 
he held until his death, which occurred on the sixteenth of July, 1794, while on his 
way to a watering-place for the benefit of his health. 

t Colonel Walter Stewart was of Irish descent, had a fair and florid complexion, 
was vivacious, intelligent, and well educated ; and, it is said, was the handsomest 
Wan in the American army. 

t General John Cadwalader, of Philadelphia. 



356 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Henry Lee was born in the county of StafTord, and 
state of Virginia, and was educated at Nassau Hall/^ in 
the years immediately prior to the Revolution. In very 
early life he showed a disposition toward manliness, as 
appears from a ludicrous anecdote, probably still extant 
in the village of Princeton. At that day, the village 
possessed but one knight of the strap, commonly called 
a barber, who mowed the chins and powdered the wigs 
of the "grave and reverend seigniors" of the faculty. 
Young Lee one day entered the shop, and pompously 
called to the operator, "Shave me, sir." Old Razor, 
though a dealer in suds, was a dry fellow, and a cele- 
brated wag. After looking for a moment with surprise 
at his new customer, he seated the youthful aspirant to 
the honors of a beard, in a chair, and having lathered 
him up to the eyes, flourished the steel as if about to 
begin ; then, laying it down, went to the door, and con- 
tinued walking backward and forward in the street, as 
though he were looking for something which had been 
lost. Lee bore his situation for awhile, with philosophic 
calmness, till his patience being exhausted, he roared out, 
" Why don't you come and shave me, sir?" — " Because," 
replied the waggish tonsor, '■^ I am looldng for your heard" 

From academic groves, Lee, then scarcely nineteen, 
repaired to the tented field. Of a height not exceeding 
the middle stature, with a form light and agile, a quick 
and penetrating glance, and a genius predominant to- 
ward arms, the youthful miUtaire was attached to the 

* This is the name of the principal building of the College of New Jersey, at 
rrinceton. It was erected in 1758, and was so named by Governor Belcher, in 
honor of William of Nassau, king of England, " who, under God," he said, "was 
the great deliverer of the British nation from those two monstrous furies, pcptry an ' 
lavery." 



HEXKY LEE. 357 

cavalry service, and became distinguished in the early 
campaigns of the Revolution. 

The affair of Paulus's Hook, in '79, in which a detach- 
ment led by Lee, succeeded in the surprise and capture 
of the enemy, " marked him for promotion." In reward 
of this brilliant achievement, Congress voted a gold 
medal,* and the commander-in-chief was pleased to author- 
ize Major Lee to raise and discipline a partisan legion, to 
consist of three companies of horse, and as many of infan- 
try, and to command the same, with the rank of lieu- 
tenant-colonel.f No officer in the American army could 
have been better fitted than Lee for the command of a 
partisan corps ; for in the sur23rise of posts, in gaining 
intelligence, of distracting and discomfiting your enemy, 
without bringing him to a general action, and all the 
strategy which belongs to the partisan warfare, few 
officers in any service have been more distinguished 
than the subject of our memoir. The legion of Lee, 
under the untiring labors of its active, talented com- 

* Paulus's Hook was the name of the point of land upon which Jersey City now 
stands, opposite New York. The British erected quite strong military works there, 
after they took possession of the city of New York and the Jerseys. Major Lee was 
stationed not far from that point, in the summer of 1779, and learned that Major 
Sutherland, the commander of the garrison, resting in fancied security, was by no 
means vigilant. Fired with enthusiasm at the success of Wayne at Stony Point, 
Lee asked permission of Washington to attack the garrison at Paulus's Hook. li 
was granted ; and in the evening of the eighteenth of August, Lee set ^ut in high 
spirits, with three hundred men, followed at helping distance by Lord Stirling with 
five hundred more. At three o'clock in the morning, he fell upon the little fort, 
killed thirty of the garrison in prosecuting the assault, and made one hundred and 
fifty-nine prisoners. For this exploit, the Congress honored Lee with a vote of 
thanks, and ordered a gold medal to be struck in commemoration of the occasion, 
and presented to him. 

t Major Lee was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in November, 1780, and on the 
thirty-first of October, Congress ordered him to join Greene in th. ■'"oath, with his 
corps. 



358 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASinNGTON. 

mancler, became one of the most efficient corps in the 
American army. 

The horsemen were principally recruited in the South- 
ern and Middle states — countries proverbial for furnish- 
ing skilful riders; while the horses, under the inspec- 
tion of the Virginian commander, were superior in bone 
and figure, and could many of them have boasted a lineal 
descent from the Godolj^hin Arabian. 

Among Lee's officers, were the good and gallant names 
of Eggleston, Rudolph, Armstrong, O'Neil, and the sur- 
viving honored veterans Allen M'Lane of Delaware, and 
Harrison of Virginia.* The arrival of the legion in the 
South was hailed as most auspicious to the success of our 
arms in that quarter ; indeed, so fine a corps of horse 
and foot, so well disciplined, and in such gallant array, 
was rarely to be seen in those our days of desolation. 
The partisan legion did good service in the campaigns of 
the Carolinas, and the commander won his way to the 
esteem and confidence of Greene, ihc tvell-helovecl of Wash- 
ington, as he had previously done to the esteem and con- 
fidence of the great chief himself;-]- and, as a justice to 
the great military sagacity of Lee, let it be remembered, 
that he was mainly instrumental in advising Greene to 
that reiurn to the Carolinas, which eventuated in the deoi- 

* This was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty-fifth of 
August, 1828. 

t In the early part of the war, Lee distinguished himself for skill and bravery, 
and Wasliington became very much attached to him. On one occasion while the 
Americans were encamped at Valley Forge, Leo performed a gallant exploit, and 
Washington, not content with honoring him with a public notice, wrote a private 
letter to him full of the wannest expressions of friendship. It is believed that Wash- 
ington's friendship for Lee was partly based upon the remembrance of his early 
love for Lee's mother, the " lowland beauty" of which he wrote, as having woa 
his lieart when he was a lad of sixteen vears. 



HENRY LEE. ^ 359 

sive and glorious combat of Eutaw,'^' and the virtual liber- 
ation of the South. With the close of the campaign of 
1781, ended the military services of Lieutenant-Colonel 
Lee.f He retired on furlough to Virginia, and was hap- 
pily present at the surrender of his old adversary, the 
formidable Cornwallis, at Yorktown, October 19th. Lee 
married shortly afterward, and settled in the county of 
Westmoreland, but was permitted, by his grateful and 
admiring countrymen, for a short time onl}^, to enjoy the 
^^ otkmi cum dignitate^^ being successively chosen to the 
state legislature, the convention for ratifying the con- 
stitution, the gubernatorial chair, and the Congress of 
the United States.J 

On the breaking out of the western insurrection, Lee, 
then governor of Virginia, was appointed by the presi- 
dent to the command-in-chief of the forces which were 
marched to the seat of rebellion.§ To this appointment, 

* In September, 1781. The British army in South Carolina had been driven to- 
ward the sea-board, and was encamped at Eutaw Springs, near the southwest bank 
of the Santee river, about sixty miles from Charleston. There, on the morning of 
the eighth of September, Greene, with a considerable force, fell upon the enemy, and 
a severe battle ensued. The British were driven from their camp, when Greene's 
troops carelessly strolled among the tents which the enemy had left. The British 
unexpectedly renewed the conflict, and after a bloody battle of four hours, the Amer- 
icans had to give way. That night the British retreated toward Charleston, and the 
next morning Greene took possession of the battle-field. In that engagement, Lee 
and his legion were very conspicuous. 

t In January, 1782, Colonel Lee sought and obtained permission to leave the 
army on account of his impaired health, when Greene declared that his services 
lad been greater than those of any one man attached to the southern army. 

X He was a delegate in Congress for Virginia, in 1786, and in 1788 he was a 
member of the state convention, called to ratify the federal constitution. In 1792 
he was elected governor of Virginia, and in 1799 he was again elected to a seat in 
Congress. 

4 This is known in history as the " Whiskey Insurrection," and occurred in 
Western Pennsylvania, in 1794. It grew out of an unpopular excise law passed in 
1T91 which imnosed duties on domestic distilled liquors. A new act on the subject. 



360 KECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Major-General Morgan, who commanded the troops de- 
tailed from Virginia, at first demurred, Morgan having 
been a brigadier in the old service of the Revolution, 
Avhile the rank of Lee was that of lieutenantrcolonel ; but 
the hero of the Cowpens soon waived his claims of rank, 
with the same magnanimous sentiments which afterwai«J 
distinguished the estimable Charles Cotesworth Pinck- 
ney, in the difference about rank, in the army of 1798, 
who said, " He [the chief] should know us best ; we are all 
his children, and he must be the best judge of our re- 
spective merits." 

With the advantages of a classical education, General 
Lee possessed taste, and distinguished powers of elo- 
quence ; and was selected, on the demise of Washington, 
to deliver the oration in the funeral solemnities decreed 
by Congress in honor of the Pater Patria3.'^ The oration 
having been but imperfectly committed to memory, from 
the very short time in which it was composed, somewhat 
impaired its effect upon the auditory ; but, as a composi- 
tion, it has only to be read to be admired, for the purity 
and elegance of its language, and the powerful appeal it 
makes to the hearts of its readers ; and we will venture 

equally unpopular, was passed by Congress in the spring of 1794 ; and wlien, soon 
after the session had closed, officers were sent out to the western districts of Penn- 
sylvania to enforce the law, the inhabitants presented armed resistance. The insur- 
rection became general throughout all tliat region, and in the vicinity of Pittsburgh 
many outrages were committed. Buildings were burned, mails were robbed, and 
government officers were abused. President Washington first issued two procla- 
mations (August 7 and September 25), but without effect. All peaceable means for 
maintaining law being exhausted, he ordered out a largo body of the militia of Vir- 
ginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. These marched to the insurgent dis- 
trict in October, under the command of General Lee, who was then the governor of 
Virginia. The military argument was effectual, and the rebellion was crushed. 

♦ An account of the congressional proceedings on that occasion will bo found in 
another part of this work. 



HENRY LEE. 361 

to affirm, that it will rank among the most celebrated 
performances of those highly distinguished men who 
mounted the rostrum on that imposing occasion of na- 
tional mourning* 

With his congressional career ended the better days 
of this highly-gifted man. An unhappy rage for specu- 
lation caused him to embark upon that treacherous 
stream, which gently, and almost imperceptibly, at first, 
but with sure and fearful rapidity at last, hurries its vic- 
tims to the vortex of destruction. It was, indeed, lament- 
able to behold the venerable Morris and Lee, patriots, 
who, in the senates of liberty, and on her battle-fields, 
had done the " state such service," instead of enjoying a 
calm and happy evening of life, to be languishing in 
prison and in exile. Lee, after long struggling with 
adversity, sought in a foreign land a refuge from his 
many ills, where, becoming broken in health, he returned 
home to die. He reached the mansion of Greene, and 
fortune, relenting of her frowns, lit up his few remaining 
days with a smile. There, amid attentions the most con- 
soling and kindly, surrounded by recollections of his old 
and loved commander, the most fond and endearing, the 
worn and wearied spirit of the patriot, statesman, and 
soldier of liberty, found rest in the grave."]* 

In one particular, Lee may be said to have excelled 
his illustrious cotemporaries Marshall, Madison, Hamilton, 
Gouverneur Morris, and Ames. It was in a surprising 

* Lee's oration is printed in the appendix of this volume. 

t General Lee was severely injured by a political mob in Baltimore, in 1812, and 
never recovered. He went to the West Indies with the hope of improving his health, 
bat it continually declined. Early in 1818 he returned to the United States. He 
stopped at the house of Mrs. Shaw, the daughter of his old friend and companion-in- 
arms, General Greene, on Cumberland island, off the coast of Georgia, where he 
died on the twenty-fifth of March, at the age of sixty-two yeai'S. 



362 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

quickness of talent, a genius sudden, dazzling, and always 
at command, with an eloquence which seemed to flow 
unbidden. Seated at a convivial board, when the death 
of Patrick Henry was announced, Lee called for a scrap 
of paper, and, in a fcAV moments, produced a striking and 
beautiful eulogium upon the Demosthenes of modern 
liberty. His powers of conversation were also fascinating 
in the extreme, possessing those rare and admirable 
qualities Avliich seize and hold captive his hearers, de- k 
lighting while they instruct. That Lee was a man of « 
letters, a scholar who had ripened under a truly classical 
sun, we have only to turn to his work on the southern 
war, where he was, indeed, the " magna imrs fuV of all 
which he relates — a work which well deserves to be ranked 
with the commentaries of the famed master of the Ro- 
man w^orld, who, like our Lee, was equally renowned with 
the pen as the sword.'^ But there is a line, a single line, 
in the works of Lee, which would hand him over to im- 
mortality, though he had never written another. ^^Fird 
in ivar, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his coiintrf/men^* 
will last while language lasts.f What a sublime eulogium 
is pronounced in this noble line ! So few words, and yet 
how illustrative are they of the vast and matchless char- 
acter of Washington ! They are words which will descend 
with the memory of the hero they are meant to honor, to 
the veneration of remotest posterity, and be graven on 
colossal statues of the Pater Patrias in some future age. J 

* General Lee's Memoirs of the War in the Southern Department of the United 
States, were written in 1808, and the last edition was printed in 1827. It is a work 
of great interest, and very reliable. It is now sought after hy all collec-tors of works 
on American history, but can rarely be found, having been out print for many years 

t This notable expression was used by General Lee in his oration on the character 
of Washington. 

t These words were cut upon the granite pedestal of Greenough's " colossal 



HENRY LEE. 606 

The attachment of Lee to Washington was like that 
of Hamilton, pure and enthusiastic — like that of the 
chivalric Laurens, devotional. It was in the praise of 
his " hero, his friend, and a country's joreserver," that the 
splendid talent of Lee were often elicited, with a force 
and grandeur of eloquence wholly his own. The fame 
and memory of his chief was the fondly-cherished pas- 
sion to which he clung amid the wreck of his fortunes — 
the hope, which gave warmth to his heart when all else 
around him seemed cold and desolate. 

But shall the biographer's task be complete, when the 
faults of his subject are not taken in the account ? Of 
faults, perhaps the subject of our memoir had many; 
yet how admirable is the maxim handed down to us from 
the ancients, " c?e mortuis nil, nisi bonumr Let the faults 
of Lee be buried in his distant grave — let the turf of 
oblivion close over the failings of him, whose early de- 
votion to liberty, in liberty's battles — whose eloquence in 
her senates, and historical memoirs of her times of trial, 
shed a lustre on his country in the young days of the 
Republic ; and when the Americans of some future date 
shall search amid the records of their early history for 
the lives of illustrious men, who flourished in the age 
of Washington, high on a brilliant scroll will they find 
inscribed, Henry Lee, a son of Virginia — the patriot, 
soldier, and historian of the Revolution, and orator and 
statesman of the Republic. 

Jtatue" of Washington (now within the square, eastward of the Federal capitc ' 
/ifteen years after this prophecy was written. 



36.1: RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON, 



CHAPTER XVII. 

BIRTH-NIGHT BALLS AND THE THEATRt- 

Institution of the Birth-Night Ball — Celebration op Washinotons Bir.TnDAi — 
Washington's Attendance upon the Balls — Decorations op the Ladies — Thb Min- 
uet — Washington's Last Dance — IIis Last Attendance at a Ball — Washington 
Fond of tub Theatre — Reception op the President at the Theatre — The The- 
atrical Company — Music on the Occasion op Washington's Attendance — Despo- 
tism OP the Pit and Gallery — Eevolutionakt Sentiment. 

The birth-night ball was instituted at the close of the 
Revolutionary war, and its first celebration, we believe, 
was held in Alexandria.* Celebrations of the birth-night 
soon became general in all the towns and cities, the 
twenty-second of February, hke the fourth of July, being 
considered a national festival, while the peculiarity attend- 
ing the former was, that its parade and ceremonies 
always closed with the birth-night ball. In the larger 
cities, where public balls were customary, the birth-night, 
in the olden time, as now, was the gala assembly of the 
season. It was attended by all the beauty and fashion, 
and at the seat of government, by the foreign ambassa- 
dors, and by strangers of distinction. The first president 

* The French officers who served in America during the Revolution, appear to 
have celebrated the birthday of Washington immediately after the war. This fact 
is indicated by the following paragraph in a letter written by Washington to the 
Count de Rochambeau, in the spring of 1784. He says, " The flattering distinction 
paid to the anniversary of my birthday, is an honor for which I dare not attempt to 
express my gratitude. I confide in your excellency's sensibility to interpret my feel 
ings for this, and for the obliging manner in which you are pleased to announce it." 



BIRTH-NIGHT BALLS AND THE THEATRE. 365 

always attended on the birth-night. The etiquette was, 
not to open the ball until the arrival of him in whose 
honor it was given; but, so remarkable was the punc- 
tuality of Washington in all his engagements, whether 
for business or pleasure, that he was never waited for a 
moment in appointments for either. Among the brilliant 
illustrations of a birth-night of five-and-thirty years ago,* 
the most unique and imposing was the groups of young 
and beautiful ladies, wearing in their hair bandeaux or 
scrolls, having embroidered thereon, in language both 
ancient and modern, the motto of " Long live the president r-\ 

* This was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty-second of 
February, 1830. 

t In a very interesting letter, dated Philadelphia, twenty-fifth May, 1859, which I 
received from the venerable Samuel Breck of that city, giving me a brief record of 
his recollections of Washington's visit to Boston in 1789, he says, after speaking of 
a dinner party at Governor Hancock's — " Meantime the French ships of war in the 
harbor were dressed in variegated lamps, and bonfires blazed in the streets. The 
ladies wore bandeaux, cestuses, and ribbons, stamped and embroidered with the name of 
Washingtok ; some in gold and silver letters, and some in pearls." 

The birthday of Washington was early celebrated among the masses of the people. 
They had been accustomed to do honor to the birthday of King George, on the 
fourth of June ; now they more delighted to do honor to a nobler George, on the 
twenty-second of February. Popular songs often enlivened the occasion, and ex- 
pressed the sentiments of the people. One of these, written more than sixty years 
ago, is preserved, from which I quote some stanzas as a specimen of its spirit : — 

" Come boys, close the windows and make a good fire. 
Wife, children, sit snug all around : 
'Tis the day that gave birth to our country's blessed sire, 
Then let it with pleasure be crowned. 
^ Dear wife, bring your wine, and, in spite of hard times, 

On this day at least we'll be merry : 
Come, fill every glass till it pours o'er the brim, 
^ If not with Madeira — then Sherry. 

***** 

' Slay the laurels of fame that his temples enwreathed. 
Ever flourish in gratitude's tears : 
O ! ever his name with devotion be breathed — 
That name which our country endears." 



366 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The minuet (now obsolete), for the graceful and ele- 
gant dancing of which Washington was conspicuous, in 
the vice-regal days of Lord Botetourt in Virginia, declined 
after the Revolution. The commander-in-chief danced, 
for his last time, a minuet, in 1781, at the ball given in 
Fredericksburg, in honor of the French and American 
officers, on their return from the triumphs at Yorktown.* 
The last birth-night attended by the venerable chief was 
in Alexandria, twenty-second February, 1798. Indeed 
he always appeared greatly to enjoy the gay and festive 
scene exhibited at the birth-night balls, and usually re- 
mained to a late hour; for, remarkable as he was for 
reserve, and the dignified gravity inseparable from his 
nature, Washington ever looked with most kind and 
favoring eye, upon the rational and elegant pleasures of 

life.f 

The first president was partial to the amusements of 
the theatre, and attended some five or six times in a sea- 
son, more especially when some public charity was to 

* See page 144. 

t The following letter from Washington, written about a month before his dcatft, 
has an interest in this connection. It was in reply to an invitation from a com- 
mittee of gentlemen of Alexandria to attend the dancing assemblies at that place. I 
copied it from the original in the Alexandria Museum, in 1848. 

" To Messrs. Jonathan Swift, George Dcneale, William Newton, Robert Young, 
Charles Alexander, Junior, James H. Hoole, Managers. 
>^ "Mount Vernon, 12th November, 1799. 

" Gentlemen — Mrs. Washington and myself have been honored with your polite 
invitation to the assemblies of Alexandria this winter, and thank you for this mark 
of your attention. But, alas! our dancing days are no more. We wish, however, 
all those who have a relish for so agreeable and innocent an amusement all tlw 
pleasure the season will afford them ; and I am, gentlemen, 

" Your most obedient and obliged humble servant, 

" Geo. Washington." 

See letters of Washington and Custis, July 1 and July 10, on pages 89 and 90 
of this volume. 



BIRTH-NIGHT BALLS AM) THE THEATRE. 367 

be benefitted by the performance. The habit was, for 
the manager to wait on the president, requesting him to 
command a play ; the pieces so commanded partook of 
but httle variety, but must be admitted to have been in 
excellent taste — the "School for Scandal," and "Every 
one has his Fault," for the plays, and for the afterpieces, 
there was almost a standing order for the " Poor Soldier" 
and "Wignell's Darby."=^ The old American company, 

* In his diary, under date of Tuesday, November 24, 1789, Washington re- 
corded as follows : " A good deal of company at the levee to-day. Went to the play 
in the evening — sent tickets to the following ladies and gentlemen, and invited them 
to take seats in my box, viz. : Mrs. Adams (lady of the vice-president), General 
Schuyler and lady, Mr. King and lady, Major Butler and lady. Colonel Hamilton 
and lady, Mrs. Greene — all of whom accepted and came, except ]Mrs. Butler, 
who was indisposed." What a group for our contemplation ! 

The theatre was in John street, north side, not far eastward from Broadway. It 
was a small, frail affair, and capable of holding only about three hundred persons. 
This was, doubtless, the occasion described by Dunlap, when Wigneli performed 
the part of Darby, in the interlude of Darbi/'s Return, a play written by that gentle- 
man. Darby (an Irish lad) recounts his adventures in the United States and else- 
where. When he related what befell him in the city of New York, at the inauguration 
of the president, &e., " the interest expressed by the audience," s-ays Dunlap, " in 
the looks and the changes of countenance of the great man [Washington], became 
intense." At the descriptive lines — 

" A man who fought to free the land from woe, 

Like me, had left his farm, a soldiering to go, 

But having gained his point, he had, like me, 

Returned his own potatoe-ground to see. 

" But then he could not rest. With one accord, 
He is called to be a kind of — not a lord — 
I don't know what ; he 's not a great man, sure. 
For poor men love him just as he were poor" — 
the president looked serious ; and when Kathleen asked, 

" How looked he, Darby ? Was he short or t.all V — 
Washington's countenance showed embarrassment from the expectation of one of 
those eulogies which he had been compelled " to hear on many public occasions, and 
which must, doubtless, have been a severe trial to his feelings." The president was 
relieved by Darby's declaration that he had not seen him. 
Mr. Dunlap, in his " History of the American Theatre," alludes thus to the fact, 



368 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

comprising Hallam and Henry, Harper, Wignell, and old 
Morris, first played in 1789, in the theatre in John street, 
and nothing more truly shows our transcendant march 
toward refinement, than the contrast between the hum- 
ble, nay, barn-like theatre, which the first president 
attended forty years ago, and the nmv various and mag- 
nificent temples of Thespis, which adorn the present 
great and splendid city of New York. 

" The company moved with the government to Phila- 
delphia, and performed in the old theatre, Southwark, in 
which was some scenery, said to have been painted by 
the interesting and unfortunate Major Andre, until the 
erection of the house in Chestnut street, where we be- 
lieve the curtain fell upon the exits of the last remnants 
of the old American company.^ 

In New York, the play-bill was headed, ^'^By payiicular 
desire" wlien it was announced that the president would 
attend. On those nights the house would be crowded 
from top to bottom, as many to see the hero as the play. 
TJ^pon the president's entering the stage-box with his family, 
the orchestra would strike up The Presidcnfs March (now 
Hail Columbia), composed by a German named Feyles, in 
'89, in contradistinction to the march of the Ee volution, 

that in the theatrical world particular regard was had to the birthday of Washing- 
ton : " The theatre having been closed for the benefit of the managers, was re- 
opened on the twenty-second of February [1810], with Gustavus Vasa, a play 
thought appropriate for the birthday of Washington, and frequently as such brought 
forward." 

* Major Andr4 was chiefly instrumental in getting up theatrical performances in 
Philadelphia, during the occupancy of that city by the Britiish army, in the winter 
of 1777, '78, and tradition says that he painted nearly all the scenery that was used. 
Wignell, of the old American company, opened the theatre in Philadelphia (a new 
and splendid one), on the seventeenth of February, 1794. The last performance of 
the old American company was, I believe, in 1798, at about wiiich time the Park 
theatre in New York was opened, with a new and strong company. 



BIRTH-NIGHT B.iLLS AND THE THEATRE. 3G0 

called Washington's 3farch* The audience applauded 
on the entrance of the president, but the pit and gallery 
were so truly despotic in the early days of the republic, 
that so soon as Hail ColumUa had ceased, Washington's 
3farch was called for by the deafening din of an hundred 
voices at once, and upon its being played, three hearty 
cheers would rock the buildmg to its base. Indeed, five- 
and-thirty years ago there could not be gotten together 
any large public assepibly without a considerable spice 
of the Revolution being; amonsr it. The soldiers and 
sailors of the War for Liberty abounded in all public 
places, and no sooner would their old chief ajopear, than 
off came each hat, and the shout of welcome resounded, 
pm'e, spontaneous, direct from the heart. 

* The song of Hail Cohtmbia, adapted in measure to the President's March, was 
written by Joseph Hopkinson, of Phihidelphia, in 1798. At that time war with 
France was expected, and a patriotic feeling pervaded the community. Mr. Fox, a 
young singer and actor, called upon Mr. Hopkinson one morning, and said, " To- 
morrow evening is appointed for my benefit at the theatre. Not a single box has 
been taken, and I fear there will be a thin house. If you will write me some patri- 
otic verses to the tune of the " President's March," I feel sure of a full house. 
Several people about the theatre have attempted it, but they have come to the con 
elusion that it can not be done. Yet I think you may succeed." Mr. Hopkinson 
retired to his study, wrote the first verse and chorus, and submitted them to 
Mrs. Hopkinson, who sang them to a harpsichord accompaniment. The time and 
the words harmonized. The song was soon finished, and that evening the young 
actor received it. The next morning the theatre-placards announced that Mr. Fox 
would sing a new patriotic song. The house was crowded — the song was sung — 
the audience were delighted^-eight times it was called for and repeated, and when 
sang the ninth time, the whole audience stood up and joined in the chorus. Night 
after night, "Hail Columbia" was applauded in the theatres; and in a few days it 
was the universal song of the boys in the streets. Such was the original of our 
national song, Hail Columbia. 

24 



3t\) KECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON * 

"Washington Eesigns nis Commission — In Ketirement at Mount Veenon — His Ov » 

AKCniTEOT AND OvERSEER — IMPROVEMENT OF HIS ESTATE — ENJOYMENT OP PRIVATE LlFB 

— Two OF HIS Aids at Mount Vernon — Bishop the Old Body-Servant — Bishop on 
" Braddock's Field'- — IIis Attachment to the Fortunes of TVAsniNOTON — Too Old 
FOR Campaigning in the Revolution — Washington's Intercourse with him — Colo- 
nel Smith's Gallantry — Bishop's Daughter Affrighted — The Wrath of Bishop 

— Billy a Peacemaker — Bishop's Wrath Assuaged — Washington in the Coxven- 
iiON OF 178T — Charles Thomson at Mount Vernon — Washington, President op tub 
United States. 

After the sublime and touching event of the " resigna- 
tion of the commission/' at Annapolis, on the twenty- 
third of December, 1783, Washington hastened to his 
beloved retirement, hung up his sword, and prepared to 
enjoy the delights of rural and domestic life.f 

* This was first published in the National Intelligencer, on the twenty-second of 
February, 1848. 

t The British army evacuated the city of New York, their last resting-place on 
the soil of the United States, on the twenty-fifth of November, 1783. The American 
army was disbanded immediately afterward, and on the fourth of December, Wash- 
ington bade his officers farewell, in a most touching personal interview, in New York. 
He then went to Philadelphia, where the fiscal officers of the government received 
from his hands a full statement of his receipts and expenditures during the war. The 
Congress were then in session at Annapolis, to wliich place he journeyed, and on 
I the twenty-third of December, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief of 
the armies of the United States, into the hands of Thomas Mifflin, the president of 
Congress. This was done at a public audience, Washington addressing the presi- 
dent in words appropriate for the occasion, and Mifflin replying in a most compliment- 
ary manner. " Having defended," he said, "the standard of liberty in this new 
world — having taught a lesson useful to those who inflict and to those who feel 
oppression — you retire from the great theatre of action with the blessings of your 
fellow-citizens. But the glory of your virtues will not terminate with your military 
command ; it will continue to animate remotest ages." 



LIFE AT :\IOUNT VERNON. 371 

The same exact and economical distribution of time, 
the same methodical and active habits of business, that 
had so triumphantly borne the commander of armies 
through the mighty labors of an eight years' war, were 
now destined, in the works of peace, alike to distinguish 
the illustrious farmer of Mount Vernon. 

After so long an absence, the retired general, on re- 
turning to his home, found that there was much to 
create. Previous to the war, the establishment of Mount 
Vernon was upon a very limited scale. The mansion- 
house was small, having but four rooms on a floor ; and 
there were wanting nearly all of the present outbuild- 
ings and offices. 

Washington was his own architect and builder, laying 
off everything himself The buildings, gardens, and 
grounds all rose to ornament and usefulness under his 
fostering hand.* 

His landed estate, comprising eight thousand acres, 
underwent many and important changes and improve- 
ments. It was divided into farms, with suitable en- 
closures ; hedges were planted, and excellent farm-build- 
ings were erected, from European models. Devoting 
much time and attention to these various objects, Wash- 
ington accomj)lished the most important of his improve- 
ments in the very short space of from four to five years.f 

* In the firrangement and embellishment of his grounds, as well as in the enlarge 
ment and improvement of the mansion-house, Washington attended to the minutest 
details. He made drawings of every plan, made a memorandum of every relative 
distance of buildings, inclosures, et cetera, and designated the position of every tree 
that was planted. I have before me some of his original drawings, in whicli all 
N these details appear, with memoranda in his neat handwriting. One of these drawings, 
published in "Mount Vernon and its Associations," shows the form of the lawn on 
the west front of the mansion, the flower and vegetable garden, and the name and 
position of every tree. 

+ At the close of the war, Washington commenced very extensive improvements 



372 RECOLLECTIONS OF AYASHINGTON. 

Nor was liis time exclusively allotted to business ; he 
had a " time for all things." He enjoyed the pleasures 

at Mount Vernon. Tlie mansion was greatly enlarged, the noble piazza that-adorns 
the river-front, the observatory and cupola upon the roof, and the kitchen and laun- 
dry, and connecting colonnades, as they now appear, were erected. In all these im- 
provements, Washington had an eye to atility and durability. The out-buildings 
were made of the most substantial materials, and the floors of the piazza and the 
covered colonnades were paved with cut stone. In this connection, the following 
letter to Mr. Rumney, of xMexandria (formerly an aid to General Lee), already 
alluded to in a note on page 171, will be found very interesting : 
r " General Washington presents his compliments to Mr. Rumney — would esteem 
it as a particular favor if Mr. Rumney would make the following enquiries as soon 
as convenient, after his arrival in England ; and communicate the result of them by 
the Packet, or any other safe and expeditious conveyance to this country. 

" First. The terms upon which the best kind of Whitehaven Flag stone — black 
& white in equal quantities — could be delivered at the Port of Alexandria by 
the superficial foot, workmanship, freight & every other incidental charge in- 
cluded. The stone to be 25 Inches, or thereabouts, thick; and exactly a foot 

square — each kind. To have a rich polished face, and good joints so as that a 
neat floor may be made therewith. 
"2nd. Upon what terms the common Irish Marble (black & white if to be had) 

— same dimensions, could be delivered as above. 
" 3rd. As the General has been informed of a very cheap Kind of Marble, good 
in quality at or in the neighborhood of Ostend, he would thank Mr. Rumney, 
if it should fall in his way, to institute an enquiry into this also. 
" On the Report of Mr. Rumney, the General will take his ultimate determination ; 
for which reason he prays him to be precise and exact. The Piazza or Colonade 
for which this is wanted as a floor is ninety-two feet, eight inches, by twelve feet 
eight inches within the margin, or border that surrounds it. Over and above the 
quantity here mentioned, if the above Flags are cheap — or a cheaper kind of hard 
Stone could be had, he would get as much as would lay floors in the Circular Col- 
onades, or covered ways at the wings of the House— each of which at the outer 
curve, is 38 feet in length by 7 feet 2 Inches in breadth, within the margin or bor- 
der as aforesaid. 

" The General being in want of a House Joiner & Bricklayer who understand their 
respective trades perfectly, would thank Mr. Rumney for enquring into the terms 
upon which such workmen might be Engaged for two or three years; (the time of 
service, to commence upon the Ship's arrival at Alexandria,) a shorter term than 
two years would not answer, because foreigners generally have a seasoning; which 
with other interruptions too frequently waste the greater part of the first year — 
more to the disadvantage of the employer than the Employed. — Bed board & Tools 
to be found by the former, clothing by the latter. 

"If two men of the above Trades and of orderly and quiet deportment cou,ld be 
obtained for twenty-five or even thirty pounds sterling, per annum each (estimating 



LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. 373 

of the chase, visited his friends, and received and enter- 
tained the numerous guests who crowded to his hospita- 
ble mansion. Indeed, in the retirement at Mount Ver- 
non, from '83 to '89, w^ere probably passed the very hap- 
piest days of this great man's life. Glorying in the 
emancipation of his country from foreign thraldom ; sur- 
rounded by many and dear friends ; hailed with love 
and gratitude by his countrymen wherever he appeared 
among them ; receiving tokens of esteem and admiration 
from the good, the gifted, and the great, of the most 
enlightened nations in the civilized world ; engaged in 
the pursuits of agriculture — pursuits that w^ere always 
most congenial to his tastes and wishes — amid so many 
blessings we may well believe that in the retirement at 
Mount Vernon Washington was hapjDy. 

On leaving Annapolis the general was accompanied 
by two of the officers of his former staff, Colonels 
Humphreys* and Smith,f who were a long time at 

dollars at 4|6) the General, rather than sustain the loss of Time necessary for com- 
munication would be obliged to Mr. Rumney for entering into proper obligatory 
articles of agreement on his behalf with them and sending them by the first vessel 
bound to this Port. " Geo. Washington. 

" Mount Vernon, July 5, 1784." 

* David Humphreys was distinguished as a poet and soldier. He was born at 
Derby, Connecticut, in 1753, and was graduated at Yale college in 1771, when he went 
to reside with Colonel Phillipse, of Phillipse's manor, in Westchester county, New 
York, as tutor. He joined the continental army, and in 1 778 became one of General 
Putnam's aids, with the rank of major. In 1780 he entered the military family of Wash- 
ington, as aid to the chief, and remained in that position until the close of the war. 
Por his valor at Yorktown, Congress presented him with a sword. In 1784 he ac- 
companied Jefferson to Paris, as secretary of legation. In 1786 he was a member 
of the Connecticut legislature, and at that time he was associated with Joel Barlow 
in a literary enterprise. He was minister to Portugal in 1788. In 1790, he resided at 
Mount Vernon by invitation of Washington, and there wrote his life of Putnam. 
He was appointed minister to Spain in 1794. He returned to America with a 
wealthy wife in 1801, and devoted the remainder of his life to agriculture. He died 
suddenly in 1812. 

t Lieutenant-Colonel William S. Smith, of New York, had been a very active 



Ol-i RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Mount Yernon, engaged in arranging the vast mass of 
papers and documents that had accumulated during the 
War for Independence. Humphreys was a man of letters 
and a poet, and, together with Colonel Smith, served in 
the staff of the commander-in-chief on some of the most 
important occasions of the Revolutionary war. 

At a short distance from the mansion-house, in a 
jDleasant and sheltered situation, rose the homestead of 
Bishop, the old body-servant. Thomas Bishop, born in 
Eno'land, attended General Braddock to the Continent 
during the seven years' war, and afterwards embarked 
with that brave and unfortunate commander for America, 



m 1 / / 5. 

On the morning of the ninth of July, the day of the 
memorable battle of the Monongahela, Bishop was pres- 
ent when Colonel Washington urged upon the English 
general for the last time the propriety of permitting him 
(the colonel) to advance with the Virginia woodsmen 
and a band of friendly Indians, and ojDcn the way to Fort 
Duquesne. Braddock treated the proposal with scorn ; 
but, turning to his flxithful follower, observed : " Bishop, 
this young man is determined to go into action to-day, 
although he is really too much weakened by illness for 
any such purpose. Have an eye to him, and render him 
any assistance that may be necessary." Bishop had only 
time to reply, " Your honor's orders shall be obeyed," 

youn<j officer (liirinj» the war. He was acting cotnmissary-gencral of prisoners for a 
while, and at the close of hostilities, he was an associate commissioner with Eghert 
Benson and Daniel Parker, to inspect and superintend the embarkation of the per- 
sons and property of the loyalists, who left the city when it was evacuated by the 
British army. He was at Mount Vernon for several months, assisting Colonel 
Humphreys in the arduous task of arranging Washington's military ^japers, and 
until the close of his life, the chief regarded him with the warmth of true friendship. 



LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. 375 

when the troops were in motion and the action soon after 
commenced* 

Sixtj-four British officers were killed or wounded, and 
Washington was the only mounted officer on the field. 
His horse being shot, Bisho^D was promptly at hand to 
offer him a second ; and so exhausted w^as the youtllfal 
hero from his previous illness and his great exertions in 
the battle, that he was with difficulty extricated from his 
dying charger, and was actually lifted by the strong 
arms of Bishop into the saddle of the second horse. 

It was at this period of the combat that, in the glimpses 
of the smoke, the gallant colonel was seen bravely dash- 
ing amid the ranks of death, and calling on the colonial 
woodsmen, who alone maintained the fight, " Hold your 
ground, my brave fellows, and draw your sights for the 
honor of old Virginia !" It was at this period, too, of the 
battle, that the famed Indian commander, pointing to 
Washington, cried to his warriors : " Fire at him no more ; 
see ye not that the Great Spirit protects that chief; he 
can not die in battle."f 

His second horse having fallen, the provincial colonel 
made his w^ay to the spot where the commanding-general, 
though mortally stricken, raging like a wounded lion, 
and yet breathing defiance to the foe, was supported in 
the arms of Bishop. Braddock grasped the hand of 
Washington, exclaiming, " Oh, my dear colonel, had I 
been governed by your advice, we never should have 
come to this !" When he found his last moments ap- 
proaching, the British general called his faithful and long- 
tried follower and friend to his side, and said, " Bishop, 



* See page 158. 

t See chapter xi., page 300. 



376 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

you are getting too old for war ; I advise you to remain 
in America and go into the service of Colonel Washing- 
ton. Be but as faithful to him as you have been to me, 
and rely upon it the remainder of your days will l^e 
prosperous and happy."* 

Bishop took the advice of his old master, and at the 
close of the campaign returned with the colonel to Mount 
Vernon. As body-servant, Bishop attended Colonel 
Washington at the time of his marriage,*}* and was in- 
stalled as cliief of the stables and the equipage in Wil- 
liamsburg, in the bright and palmy days of that ancient 
capital. Finally, the old body-servant settled on the 
banks of the Potomac, married, and was made overseer 
of one of the farms of the Mount Vernon estate. 

At the commencement of the Revolutionary war 
Bishop was considered as too old for active service, and 
was left in charge of the home establishment, where the 
veteran soldier's rigid discipline and strict attention to 
everything committed to his care caused affairs imme- 
diately relating to the mansion-house to be kept in first- 
rate order. Upon the general's return after the peace 
of 1783, the ancient body-servant had passed fourscore, 
had been relieved from all active service, and, having 
lost his wife, he, with his daughter and only child, was 
settled down in a comfortable homestead that had been 
built expressly as an asylum for his age. 

* Braddock was borne from tlie field, and carried away by his soldiers in their 
flight toward Fort Cumberland. The battle was fought on the ninth of Jul}', 1753, 
and on the night of the fourteenth Braddock expired. At a little past midnight 
Washington read the impressive funeral services of the Anglican church, over his 
body, and it was buried in the road, so that the Indians might not discover and 
desecrate his grave. The place of his burial may now be seen between the fifty- 
third and fifty-fourth milestone, on the road from Cumberland, westward. 

t See sketch of Martha Washinylon. 



1 



LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. 377 

Altliongh very infirm, jet, when tlie bright skies and 
balmy breath of spring renovated all nature, the veteran 
soldier and faithful follower of two masters would grasp 
his staff and wend his way to a spot by which he knew 
the general would pass in taking his morning ride. As 
"Washington approached, the veteran, by aid of his staff, 
would draw himself up to his full height, and with a right 
soldierly air uncover. A few silver locks were scattered 
about his temples, his visage was deeply furrowed by the 
hand of time, while his bent and shrunken frame was 
but the shadow of a form once so tall and manly. The 
general would rein up his horse and kindly inquire, 
" How are you, old man ; I am glad to see you abroad ; 
is there anything you want ?" The veteran would re- 
ply : " Good morning to your honor ; I am proud and 
happy to see your honor looking so brave and hearty. 
I thank God I am as well as can be expected at my 
years. What can I want while in your honor's service ? 
Whenever the choicest meats are killed for you honor's 
own table, the good lady will send to old Bisho^D a part. 
God bless your honor, the madam, and all your good 
family !" Washington would continue his morning ride, 
while the old body-servant, made happy by the inter- 
view, grasped his staff and strode manfully away to his 
comfortable home. 

Of the two former aids-de-camp, now secretaries, in 
their hours of relaxation from business, Humphreys was 
in the habit of strolling to unfrequented- places, there to 
recite his verses to the echoes. Smith, too, would take 
the air after the labors of the writing-desk. 

One evening Colonel Smith in his rambles came sud- 
denly upon the homestead of the old body-servant, whose 



378 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

clauglitcr was milking at a short distance from the house. 
She was a shghtly-built girl, and, in endeavoring to raise 
the pail, found it too much for her strength. Colonel 
Smith gallantly stepped forward, and offered his services, 
saj'ing, " Do, miss, permit my strong arms to assist you." 
Now, the veteran's daughter had often heard from her 
father the most awful tales of those sad fellows, the 
young, and particularly the handsome British officers, 
and how their attentions to a maiden must inevitably re- 
sult in her ruin. Filled with these ideas. Miss Bishop did 
not draw any line of distinction between British and f 
American officers, and Smith, being a peculiarly fine hand- 
some fellow, the milkmaid threw down her pail and ran 
screaming to the house. The colonel followed, making 
every possible apology, when suddenly he was brought 
up all standing by the appearance of the veteran, who 
stood, in all his terrors, at the door of his domicil. The 
affrighted girl ran into her father's arms, while the old 
body-servant rated the colonel in no measured terms 
upon the enormity of the attempt to insult his child. 
Poor Smith, well bespattered by the contents of the milk- 
pail, in vain endeavored to excuse himself to the enraged 
veteran, who declared that he would carry the affair up 
to his honor, aye, and to the madam, too. At the men- 
tion of the latter personage the unfortunate colonel felt 
something like an ague-chill pass over his frame. Smith 
in vain essayed to propitiate the old man by assuring 
Lim that the affiiir was one of the most common gallant- 
ry; that his object was to assist, and not to insult the 
damsel. Bishop replied, "Ah! Colonel Smith, I know 
what you dashing young officers are. I am an old soldier, 
and have seen some things in my long day. I am sure 



li 



LIFE AT JIOUNT VERNON. 379 

his honor, after my services, will not permit my child to 
be insulted ; and, as to the madam, why the madam as 
good as brought up my girl." So saying, the old body- 
servant retired into his castle, and closed the door. 

The unfortunate colonel wended his way to the man- 
sion-house, aware of the scrape he had got into, and pon- 
dering as to the mode by which he might be able to get 
out of it. At length he bethought himself of Billy, the 
celebrated servant of the commander-in-chief during the 
whole of the War of the Revolution, and well known to 
all the officers of the headquarters. 

A council of war was held, and Billy expressed great 
indignation that Bishop should attempt to carry a com- 
plaint against his friend. Colonel Smith, up to the general, 
and that it was perfectly monstrous that such a tale 
should reach the ears of the madam ; " but," continued 
Billy, " that is a terrible old fellow, and he has been much 
spoiled on account of his services to the general in Brad- 
dock's war. He even says that we of the Eevolutionary 
army are but half soldiers, compared with the soldiers 
which he served with, in the outlandish countries." Smith 
observed, " it is bad enough, Billy, for this story to get to 
the general's ears, but to those of the lady will never do ; 
and then there's Humphreys, he will be out upon me in 

a d d long poem, that will spread my misfortunes 

from Dan to Beersheba." At length the colonel deter- 
mined, by the advice of his privy counsel, to despatch 
Billy as a special ambassador, to endeavor to propitiate 
the veteran, or, at any rate, to prevent his visit to the 
mansion-house. 

Meantime the old body-servant was not idle. He ran- 
sacked a large worm-eaten trunk, and brought forth a 



380 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

coat that had not seen the light for many long years (it 
was of the cut and flishion of the daj^s of George II) ; then 
a vest, and lastly a hat, Cumberland cocked, with a huge 
ribbon cockade, that had seen service in the seven years' 
war. His shoes underwent a polish, and were covered by 
laro-e silver buckles. All these accoutrements being care- 
fully dusted and brushed, the veteran flourished his staff 
and took up his line of march for the mansion-house, 

Billy met the old soldier in ftill march, and a parley 
ensued. Billy harangued with great force upon the im- 
propriety of the veteran's conduct in not receiving the 
colonel's apology ; " for," continued the ambassador, " my 
friend Colonel Smith is both an officer and a gentleman ; 
and then, old man, you have no business to have such a 
handsome daughter (a grim smile passing over the vet- 
eran's countenance at this compliment to the beauty of 
his child), for you know young fellows will be young 
fellows." He continued by saj'ing, it was not to be 
thought of that any such matter should reach the madam's 
ears, and concluded by recommending to the veteran to 
drop the affair and return to his home. 

The old body-servant, fully accoutred for his expedition, 
had cooled off a little during his march. A soldierly re- 
spect for an officer of Colonel Smith's rank and standing, 
and a fear that he might carry the matter a little too fiir, 
determined him to accept the colonel's assurance that 
there could be no harm where " no harm was intended," 
came to the rightabout and retraced his steps to his 
home. 

The ambassador returned to the anxious colonel, and 
informed him that he had met the old fellow, en grand 
costume^ and in full march for the mansion-house, but 



I 



LIFE AT MOUNT VERNON. 381 

that by a powerful display of eloquence he had brought 
him to a halt, and induced him to listen to reason, and 
drop the afiair altogether. The ready guinea was quickly 
in the ambassador's pouch, while the gallant colonel, 
happy in his escape from what might have resulted in a 
very unpleasant affair, was careful to give the homestead 
of the old body-servant a good wide berth in all future 
rambles. 

The pleasurable routine of Washington's life, in his 
retirement, was a little varied by his call to the conven- 
tion of 1787^" but in 1788, when the constitution became 
ratified by the states,-f- letters, addresses, and memorials 

* Before the close of the Kevolution, many sagacious minds perceived the utter 
incompetency of the fed^-ral government, under the provisions of the Articles of Con- 
/edera'ioii, to perform the proper functions of supreme power. The doctrine of 
Btate rights was strongly impressed upon the minds of the people, and there was a 
growing jealousy of the assumptions of Congress, even when that body exercised its 
legitimate functions. To the appreciation of true statesmen such as Washington, 
Hamilton, Madison, Jay, and others, there appeared a necessity for a greater cen- 
tralization of power, for to a great extent the people had lost all regard for the au- 
thority of Congress. The commercial and monetary affairs of the country were 
wretchedly deranged, and many felt serious apprehensions of a total failure of the 
republican scheme. Hamilton, at an early period, suggested a convention of 
states to consider and correct the errors of the federal system as it then existed ; and 
finally, at the suggestion of Washington, a convention was called for the purpose, 
at Annapolis, in Maryland. The delegates assembled in September, 1786. Only 
five states were represented. These recommended the holding of another conven- 
tion in May following. At that time delegates from all the states, except New 
Hampshire and Rhode Island, appeared. Washington was a delegate from Virginia, 
and was chosen to preside. Able statesmen were his associates ; and on the twelfth 
of September, 1787, the present Constitution of the United States ("except a few 
subsequent amendments) was adopted. 

t The federal Constitution was submitted to the people for their approval or re- 
jection. It found many able opposers. State rights, sectional interests, radical de- 
mocracy, had all numerous friends, and these stood firmly in the opposition. Among 
its ablest supporters with pen and tongue, was Alexander Hamilton, who gave to 
the world most able papers on government, to which were added some by Madison 
and Jay. These, in collected form, bear the title of The Federalist. Very soon 
eleven of the thirteen states ratified the Constitution. The Congress then fixed the 
time for the new government to go into operation. 



382 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

from his compatriots and old coinpanions-in-arms pourevl 
in from all parts of the country, all praying him who had 
been " first in war" to become " first in peace" as the 
chief magistrate of the new government. These testi- 
monials of affection made deep impression upon the re- 
tired general, as they showed him that he stood " first 
in the hearts of his countrymen." 

In April, 1789, the doors of Mount Vernon opened to 
receive, and Washington hastened to embrace, the ven- I 
erable Charles Thomson, the secretary to the continental 
Congress during fifteen consecutive years. He came 
charged with the important duty of announcing to the 
retired general his unanimous election to the office of 
president of the United States. The tall attenuated form, 
the simple yet dignified manners of Secretary Thom- 
son, made him a most favored guest at a board where | 
had been welcomed many of the wise, the good, the 
brave, and renowned.* 

* On the sixth of April, 1789, John Langdon, president of the United States 
senate, pro tempore, wrote an official letter to Washington, informing him that he 
had been chosen first president of the United States, with John Adams as vice-pres- 
ident ; and Charles Thomson, the secretary of the continental Congress, imme- 
diately proceeded to Mount Vernon to bear to the new officer the official announce- 
ment of his election. The president made immediate preparations for his journey 
to the seat of government, then at New York. He left Mount Vernon on the six- 
teenth, arrived at New York on the twenty-third, and there, on the thirtieth of the 
month, in the presence of a vast concourse of people, he took the solemn oath of 
office. The old continental Congress had expired on the fourth of March previously, 
and the federal Constitution had become the organic law of the republic. 

Mr. Secretary Thomson was a native of Ireland, where he was born in 1730. Ho 
settled as a teacher in Philadelphia, and was honored with the friendship of Dr. 
Franklin. When the continental Congress convened in that city, in 1774, he had 
just married a young woman of fortune. lie was chosen the secretary of that body, 
and held the office fifteen consecutive years. Ho died at Lower Merion, Mont- 
gomery country, Pennsylvania, on the sixteenth of August, 1824, at the age of 
ninety-four years. 



LILE AT JIOUNT VERNON. 383 

The unanimous election of "Washington to the chief 
magistracy of a new empire by a people who had hun- 
gered for an opportunity of elevating the man of their 
hearts to the highest gift in their power to bestow, called 
forth from the chief acknowledgments of profound grati- 
tude. When he departed for the seat of the federal 
government, he turned a last fond lingering look 
upon his retired home, where he had passed so many 
peaceful and happy daj^s ; upon his extensive circle of 
friends, to whom he was attached by many and most 
endearing associations ; upon his improvements, which 
he had so much delighted to rear, and which had grown 
up to useful and ornamental maturity under his fostering 
hand ; he bade adieu to them all, and hastened to obey 
the call of his country 



384 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN. 
WASHiNGTOJf Fond of the Chasr — He was not a mebb Shootek and Fisherman — 

SiTU-ATION AND ChAEACTEE OF HIS KeNNEL — SELECTION OF HIS DOGS — HiS SPOETINO 

Feiends — His Costume when bnoaoed in the Chase — Present of Hounds from La- 
fayette — Their Savage Nature — Washington on Horseback — His Favorite Hossb 
foe the Chase — His Daring — The Famous Black Fox — Its supposed Infernal Ke- 

LATIONSHIP — KOBBERY BY ONE OF THE FRENCH DOGS — "WASinNGTON'S LaBT HuNT — HB | 

Gives avtay his Dogs — Deer Park — Dispersion of the Deer — Poachers — Consent ' 
TO Hunt — Author of these Recollections on a Hunt for a Buck — IIis Success — 
The Venison Dinner at Mount Vernon — Antlers of the TVashington Stag. 

The time which Colonel Washington could spare from 
his building and agricultural improvements between the 
years 1759 and 1774, was considerably devoted to the 
pleasures of the chase. We have neither knowledge nor 
tradition of his having ever been a shooter or a fisher- 
man: fox-huntinor beinsi; of a bold and animatino; charac- 
ter, suited well with the temperament of the "lusty 
prime" of his age, and peculiarly well accorded with his 
fondness and predisposition for equestrian exercises. 

His kennel was situated about a hundred yards south 
of the family vault in which at present repose his vener- 
ated remains.* The building was a rude structure, but 
afforded comfortable quarters for the hounds ; with a 

* This was first published in The American Turf Register and Sporting Magazine, 
on the twenty-ninth of September, 1829. At that time the remains of Washrngton 
were in the old vault, upon the summit of the river bank, a few rods from the lawD 
and about half way between the mansion and the tomb wherein they now repos« 
These remains were re-entombed in the autumn of 18.37. 



WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN. 385 

large enclosure paled in, liaving in the midst a spring of 
running water. The pack was very numerous and select, 
the colonel visiting and inspecting his kennel morning 
and evening, after the same manner as he did his stables."'' 
It was his pride (and a proof of his skill in hunting) to 
have his pack so critically drafted, as to speed and bottom, 
that in running, if one leading dog should lose the scent, 
another was at hand immediately to recover it, and thus 
when in full cry, to use a racing phrase, you might cover 
the pack with a blanket. 

During the season, Mount Vernon had many sporting 
guests from the neighborhood, from Maryland, and else- 
where. Their visits were not of days, but weeks ; and 
they were entertained in the good old style of Virginia's 
ancient hospitality. Washington, always superbly mount- 
ed, in true sporting costume, of blue coat, scarlet waist- 
coat, buckskin breeches, top boots, velvet cap, and whip 
with long thong, took the field at daybreak, with his 
huntsman. Will Lee, his friends and neighbors j and none 
rode more gallantly in the chase, nor with voice more 
cheerily awakened echo in the woodland, than he who 
was afterwards destined, by voice and example, to cheer 
his countrymen in their glorious struggle for indepen- 
dence and empire. Such was the hunting establishment 
at Mount Vernon prior to the Revolution. 

We come now to events of our own times. After the 



* Washington kept a register of his horses and his hounds, in which might be 
found the names, ages, and marks of each; and with these, his companions of the 
chase, he was as punctual in his attentions as to any other business of his life. 
Among the names of his horses were those of Chinkling, Valiant, Ajax, Magnolia, 
Blueskin, et cetera. Magnolia was a full-blooded Arabian, and was used for the 
Baddle upon the road. Among the names of his hounds were Vulcan, Eingwood, 
Singer, Truelove, Music, Sweetlips, Forrester, Rockwood, et cetera. 

25 



386 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

peace of 1783, the hunting estabUshment, which had 
gone down during the war, was renewed by the arrival 
of a pack of French hounds, sent out by the Marquis de 
Lafiiyette. These chiens de chasse were of great size — 

" Bred out of the Spartan kind, so flowed, so sanded, 
With ears that swept away the morning dew, dewlan'd 
Like tlie Salonian bulls, matched in mouth like bells" — 

the bells of Moscow, and great Tom of Lincoln, we should 
say, and, from their strength, were fitted, not only to pull 
do)vn the stately stag, but in combat to encounter the 
w-olf or boar, or even to grapple with the lordly lion. 
These hounds, from their fierce dispositions, were gen-, 
crally kept confined, and wo to the stranger who might] 
be passing their kennel after night-fall, should the gates ' 
bo unclosed. His fate would be melancholy, unless he 
could climb some friendly tree, or the voice or the whip 
of the huntsman came " speedily to the rescue." The 
huntsman always presided at their meals, and it was only 
by tlie liberal application of the whip-thong that any- 
thing like order could be preserved among these savages 
of the chase. 

The habit was to hunt three times a week, weather 
permitting ; breakfast was served, on these mornings, at 
candle-light, the general always breaking his fast with 
an Indian-corn cake and a bowl of milk ; and, ere the 
cock had " done salutation to the morn," the whole caval- 
cade would often have left the house, and the fox be fre- 
quently unkennelled before sunrise. Those who have 
seen Washington on horseback will admit that he was one 
of the most accompHshed of cavaliers in the true sense 
and perfection of the character. He rode, as he did 
everything else, with ease, elegance, and with power. 



WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN. 387 

The vicious propensities of horses were of no moment to 
this skilful and daring rider ! He always said that he 
required but one good quality in a horse, to go along, and 
ridiculed the idea of its being even possible that he 
should be unhorsed, provided the animal kept on his legs. 
Indeed the perfect and sinewy frame of the admirable 
man gave him such a surpassing grip with his knees, 
that a horse might as soon disencumber itself of the sad- 
dle as of such a rider. 

The general usually rode in the chase a horse called 
BluesJcin, of a dark iron-gray color, approaching to blue 
This was a fine but fiery animal, and of great endurance 
in a long run. Will, the huntsman, better known in Rev- 
olutionary lore as Billy, rode a horse called ChinJding, a 
surprising leaper, and made very much like its rider, low, 
but sturdy, and of great bone and muscle. Will had but 
one order, which was to keep with the hounds ; and, 
mounted on ChinJding, a French horn at his back, throw- 
ing himself almost at length on the animal, with his spur 
in flank, this fearless horseman would rush, at full speed, 
through brake or tangled wood, in a style at which 
modern huntsmen would stand as-hast. There were 
roads cut through the woods in various directions, by 
which aged and timid hunters and ladies could enjoy the 
exhilirating cry, without risk of life or limb ; but Wash- 
ington rode gaily up to his dogs, through all the difficul- 
ties and dangers of the ground on which he hunted, nor 
spared his generous steed, as the distended nostrils of 
Blueskin often would show. He was always in at the 
death, and yielded to no man the honor of the brush. 

The foxes hunted fifty years ago were gray foxes, with 
one exception ; this was a famous black fox, which, dif- 



388 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

fering from his brethren of " orders gray," would flourish 
his bru:sh, set his pursuers at defiance, and go from ten 
to twenty miles an end, distancing both dogs and 
men ; and what Avas truly remarkable, would return to 
his place of starting on the same night, so as always to i 
be found there the ensuing morning. After seven or 
eight severe runs, without success, Billy recommended 
that the black reynard should be let alone, giving it as 
his opinion, that he was very near akin to another sable 
character, inhabiting a lower region, and as remarkable 
for his wiles. The advice was adopted from necessity, 
and ever thereafter, in throwing off the hounds, care was 
taken to avoid the haunt of the unconquerable hlack 
fox?" 

The chase ended, the party would return to the man- 
sion-house, where, at the well-spread board, and with 
cheerful glass, the feats of the leading dog, the most gal- 
lant horse, or the boldest rider, together with the prowess 
of the famed black fox, were all discussed, while Wash- 
ington, never permitting even his pleasures to infringe 
upon the order and regularity of his habits, would, after 
a few glasses of Madeira, retire to his bed supperless at 
nine o'clock. He always took a little tea and toast be- 
tween six and seven in the evening. 

Of the French hounds, there was one named Vulcan, 
and we bear him the better in reminiscence, from having 
often bestrid his ample back in the days of our juvenih"ty. 
It happened that upon a large company sitting down to 



* The red fox is supposed to have been imported from England, to the eastern 
shore of Maryland, by a Mr. Smith, and to luive emigrated across the ice to Vir- 
ginia, in the hard winter of 1779-80, when the Chesapeake was frozen over.-— iVote 
by the Author. 



WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN. 389 

dinner at Mount Vernon one day, the lady of the mansion 
(my grandmother) discovered that the ham, the pride of 
every Virginia housewife's table, was missing from its 
accustomed post of honor. Upon questioning Frank, the 
butler, this portly, and at the same time the most polite 
and accomplished of all butlers, observed that a ham, yes, 
a very fine ham, had been prepared, agreeably to the 
Madam's orders, but lo and behold ! who should come into 
the kitchen, while the savory ham was smoking in its 
dish, but old Vulcan, the hound, and without more ado 
fastened his fangs into it ; and although they of the 
kitchen had stood to such arms as they could get, and 
had fought the old spoiler desperately, yet Vulcan had 
finally triumphed, and bore off the prize, ay, " cleanly, 
under the keeper's nose." The lady by no means relished 
the loss of a dish which formed the pride of her table, 
and uttered some remarks by no means favorable to old 
Vulcan, or indeed to dogs in general, while the chief, 
having heard the story, communicated it to his guests, 
and, with them, laughed heartily at the exploit of the 
staff-hound. 

Washington's last hunt with his hounds, was in 1785. 
His private affairs and public business required too much 
of his time to allow him to indulge in field sports. His 
fondness for agricultural improvements, and the number 
of visiters that crowded Mount Vernon, induced him to 
break up his kennels, to give away his hounds, and to 
bid a final adieu to the pleasures of the chase. He then 
fonned a deer-park below the mansion-house, extending 
to the river, and enclosing by a high paling about a hun- 
dred acres of land. The park was at first stocked with 
■ only the native deer, to which w^as afterwards added the 



3 Do RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

English fallow deer, from the park of Governor Ogle, of 
Maryland.-'^ 

The stock of deer mcreased very rapidly, yet, strange 
to say, although herding together, there never was per- 
ceptible the slightest admixture of the two races. 

On the decay of the park paling, and the dispersion 
of the deer over the estate, as many as fifteen or twenty 
were often to be seen in a herd. 

The general was extremely tenacious of his game, and 
would suffer none to be killed, till, being convinced that 
the poachers were abroad, that the larder of an extensive 
hotel in a neighboring town was abundantly supplied 
with plump haunches from the Mount Vernon stock, and 
indeed that every one seemed to be enjoying his venison 
but himself, he at length consented that " a stag should 
die." 

One morning I was summoned to receive his orders for 
hunting. They were given as follows : " Recollect, sir, 
that you are to fire with ball, to use no hounds, and on no 
account to kill any but an old buck." Charmed with a 
permission so long coveted, and at last obtained, we pre- 
pared for the field. Determined to make a sure shot, we 
discarded the rifle in favor of an old British musket, of the 
fashion and time of George II. — a heav}^, black, ill-favored 
looking piece, but capable of carrying two balls, each of 
an ounce weight, and famed for hitting hard behind as well 
as before. Thus equipped, and with a goodly array of 
drivers, and dogs of various sorts, we repaired to the 
haunt of a celebrated old buck, considered as the patriarch 
of the herd. 

* Samuel Ogle was governor of Maryland at three different times, namelr, in 
1732, 1737, and 1747. 



WASHINGTON AS A SPORTSMAN. 391 

"Rousing him up from his lair," the woods echoed 
with the shouts of the huntsmen and the cries of the 
dogs, while the noble buck, crashing through the under- 
growth, seemed to bid defiance to his pursuers. The loud 
report of the musket was now added to the uproar in the 
wood, and, it being evident from hunter's signs that the 
game was hit, it only remained to mount and pursue. 

The " stricken deer" always seeks the water as a refuge 
from the dogs : in this instance, a melee of hunters, horses, 
dogs, and deer rushed into the waters of the Potomac at 
the same time, the huntsmen laying lustily about them to 
prevent the dogs from breaking up the wounded stag, 
that, after a gallant struggle, yielded up his life, and was 
carried in triumph to the mansion-house, there to await 
the master's inspection. 

Punctual as the hand of the clock, at a quarter to three 
the general arrived from his morning ride. Upon his 
dismounting, we announced that a fine buck had been 
shot. "Ah, well !" he replied, " let 's see," and strode along 
to the Locust grove, to which we led the way — ay, and 
manly was that stride, although he was then in the sixty- 
eighth year of his age. He examined the deer, that had 
been triced up to a tree, and observing the frosted front of 
the antlered monarch of the herd, he became convinced 
that his orders had been obeyed to the very letter; he gave 
a nod of approbation, and retired to his room to dress, as 
was his custom, before the second bell for dinner. 

The carcass of the Washington Stag, after being 
trimmed according to hunter's fashion — that is, the 
'neck, hocks, and offal parts removed — weighed one 
hundred and forty-six pounds. 

Th6> next day, several guests having assembled, the 



392 RECOLLECTIONS OF -WASHINGTON. 

haunch was served up in the family dining-room at Mount 

Vernon ; and of the venison it may of a truth be said 

that — 

" Finer or fatter 

Was ne'er carved at a board, or smoked on a platter." 

We have killed many a brave deer since the days of 
1799, but none have left an impression on the memory 
or the heart like that of the Washington Stag, that was 
killed by Washington's special order, that was served at 
his board, and on which he fed in the last, the very last 
year of his glorious life.* , 



* The antlers of this famous buck may still be seen at Arlington House, where 
they grace the great hall, and are labelled, in the handwriting of the sportsman who 
killed the owner, " The Washington Stag." 






THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 393 



CHAPTER XX. 

THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 

iNArGTJRATION OF WASHINGTON — HiS PLACE OP EeSIDENCE IN NeW TOEK — Hl8 FAMILY — 

The Guests at the President's Hoitse — His Levees — Mrs. "Washington's Drawino- 
EoOMS — An Accident — Washington an Early Eisee — His Stables in New York and 
Philadelphia — The Theatre in New York — Severe Illness op the President — His 
Eecoveey — His Eastern Tottr — Washington's Private Secretaries — Anecdote of 
Humphreys — The President changes his Eesidence — Departure prom New York — 
Attempt to Leave Privately — A Public Demonstration — Progress to Philadelphia 
— Ebvolutionaey Veterans — The President's Ebception in Philadelphia — He Visits 
Mount Vernon. 

On the 30th of April, 1789, the Constitutional Govern- 
ment of the United States began, by the inauguration of 
George Washington as President of the United States, in 
the city of New York.* 

* The president, as we have observed in a note on page 382, left his home for 
New York on the sixteenth, and was everywhere received on his journey with the 
greatest demonstrations of affection. At Trenton, where he entered New Jersey, his 
reception was peculiar and gratifying. It was arranged entirely by the ladies, in 
which, as has been already observed, Mrs. Stockton, the widow of one of the signers 
of the Declaration of Independence, participated. Upon Trenton bridge they caused 
to be erected an arch, which they adorned with laurel leaves and flowers from the 
forests and their hot-houses, and the first spring contributions from their gardens. 
Upon the crown of the arch, in large letters, formed of leaves and flowers, were the 
words "December 26th, 1776;" and on the sweep beneath was the sentence, also 
formed of flowers, " The Defender of the Mothers will be the Protector of the 
Daughters." Beneath this arch the president elect was obliged to pass on entering 
Trenton. There he was met by a troop of females. On one side a row of little 
girls dressed in white, and each bearing a basket of flowers, were arranged ; on the 
other side stood a row of young ladies similarly arrayed, and behind them were the 
married ladies. The moment Washington and his suite approached the arch, the 
little girls began to strew flowers in the road, and the whole company of the fair sang 
the following ode, writti«" for the occasion by Governor Howell : — 



394 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

In the then limited extent and improvement of the 
city, there was some difficulty in selecting a mansion for 
the residence of the chief magistrate, and a household 
suitable to his rank and station. Osgood's house, a man- 
sion of very moderate extent, was at length fixed upon, 
situated in Cherry street* There the president became 
domiciled. His domestic family consisted of Mrs. Wash- 
ington, the two adopted children,-]- Mr. Lear, J as principal 
secretary, Colonel Humphreys,^ with Messrs. Lewis and 
Nelson,|l secretaries, and Major William Jackson aid-de- 
camp.]! 



" Welcome, miplity chief, once more 
Welcome to this grateful shore. 
Now no mercenary foe 
Aims again the fatal blow — 
Aims at Thee the fatal blow. 



4 
4 



" Virgins fair and matrons grave, 
Those thy conquering arm did save, 
Build for Thee triumphal bovvers. 
Strew, ye fair, his way with flowers — 
Strew your Hero's way with flowers !" 
Washington arrived in New York on the twenty-third of April, and took the oath 
of office, administered to him on the balcony of the old Federal Hall, in Wall street, 
by Robert R. Livingston, then chancellor of the st.ate. 

* This was No. 10 Cherry street, a few doors from Franklin square. When, 
afterward, the houses upon Franklin square, constituting a point at the junction of 
Pearl and Clierry streets, were removed, the former southern side of the mansion 
fronted on the square, and so remained until its demolition, in 18.56. Views of this 
house, as it a])peared just before its destruction, to make way for finer buildings, 
may be seen in Valentine's Mamtalofthe Common Council of New Yoi-k, 1857. 

t Eleanor Parke and George Washington Parke Custis. Mr. Custis (the author 
of these Recollections) was then eight years of age. 

t Tobias Lear, who was a member of Washington's family at the time of that 
great man's death. 
4 Colonel D-ivid Humphreys, a sketch of whom is given elsewhere. 
II Tiie former was a nephew of Washington, and the latter was a son of Governor 
Nelson, of Virginia. 

IT Major Jarkson was a great favorite in Washington's family. He and Mr. Lear 
nlways walked out with the president; and he accompanied Washington in his 
eastern and southern tours, made during his presidency. His wife, a daughter of 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 395 

Persons visiting the house in Cherry street at this time 
of day, will wonder how a building so small could contain 
the many and mighty spirits that thronged its halls in 
olden days * Congress, cabinet, all public functionaries 
in the commencement of the government, were selected 
from the very elite of the nation. Pure patriotism, com- 
manding talent, eminent services, were the proud and 
indispensable requisites for official station in the first days 
of the republic. The first Congress was a most enlight- 
ened and dignified body. In the senate were several of 
the members of the Congress of 1776, and signers of the 
Declaration of Independence — Richard Henry Lee, who 
moved the Declaration, John Adams, who seconded it, 
with Sherman, Morris, Carroll, etc.f 

The levees of the first president were attended by 
these illustrious men, and by many others of the patriots, 
statesmen, and soldiers, who could say of the Revolution, 
^^ magna pars fid ;" while numbers of foreigners and stran- 
gers of distinction crowded to the seat of the general 
government, all anxious to witness the grand experiment 
that was to determine how much rational liberty man- 
kind is capable of enjoying, without that liberty degen- 
erating into licentiousness. 

Mrs. Washington's drawing-rooms, on Friday nights, 



Thomas Willirif^, of Philadelphia, survived him a great many years, and died recent- 
ly, at the age of ninety-three years. 

* This was first published in the National Intdligencer, on the twenty-third of 
February, 1847. 

t Roger Sherman, of Connecticut, Robert Morris of Pennsylvania, and Charles 
Carroll, of Maryland were all signers of the Declaration of Independence, and were 
members of Congress during Washington's first administration. Carroll was the 
last survivor of the glorious band of fifty-six who signed that great manifesto. He 
died in 1832, in the ninety-sixth year of his age. 



396 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

were attended by the grace and beauty of New York * 
On one of these occasions an incident occurred which 
might have been attended by serious consequences. 
Owing to the lowness of the ceiling in the drawing-room, 
the ostrich feathers in the head-dress of Miss Mclvers, a 
belle of New York, took fire from the chandelier, to the 
no small alarm of the company .f Major Jackson, aid-de- 
camp to the president, with great presence of mind, and 
equal gallantry, flew to the rescue of the lady, and, byj 
clapping the burning plumes between his hands, extin- 
guished the flame, and the drawing-room went on asl 
usual. 

Washington preserved the habit, as well in public as 
in private life, of rising at four o'clock, and retiring to 
bed at nine. On Saturdays he rested somewhat from his 
labors, by either riding into the country, attended by a 
groom, or with his family in his coach drawn by six 
horses. 

Fond of horses, the stables of the president were 
always in the finest order, and his equipage excellent, 
both in taste and quality. Indeed, so long ago as the 
days of the vice-regal court of Lord Botetourt at Wil- 
liamsburg, in Virginia, we find that there existed a 
rivalry between the equipages of Colonel Byrd, a mag- 

* Washington's levees wore held on Tuesday, and Mrs. Washinrjton's drawing- 
rooms on Friday evenings. In his diary, in the autumn of 1789 and the winter of | 
1790, Washington often makes a simple record, thus, on Fridays — " The visiters 
this evening to Mrs. Washington were respectable, both of gentlemen and ladies." 
" The visiters to Mrs. Washington this afternoon were not numerous, but respect- 
able." — " In the evening, a great number of ladies and many gentlemen visited Mrs. 
Washington." 

t This was Miss Mary M'lvers, who was married at about that time, to the late 
Edward Livingston, author of the Louisiana code, and American minister at the 
French court. 



^ THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 397 

nate of the old regime,^ and Colonel Washington, the 
grays agamst the bays. Bishop, the celebrated body- 
servant of Braddock, was the master of Washington's 
stables. And there were what was termed muslin horses 
in those old days. At cock-crow the stable-boys were at 
work ; at sunrise Bishop stalked into the stables, a mus- 
lin handkerchief in his hand, which he applied to the 
coats of the animals, and, if the slightest stain was per- 
ceptible upon the muslin, up went the luckless wights 
of the stable-boys, and punishment was administered in- 
stanter ; for to the veteran Bishop, bred amid the iron 
discipline of European armies, mercy for anything like 
a breach of duty was altogether out of the question. 

The president's stables in Philadelphia were under the 
direction of German John, and the grooming of the 
white chargers will rather sur^Drise the moderns. The 
night before the horses were expected to be ridden they 
were covered entirely over with a paste, of which whiting 
was the principal component part; then the animals 
were swathed in body-cloths, and left to sleep upon clean 
straw. In the morning the composition had become 
hard, was well rubbed in, and curried and brushed, which 
process gave to the coats a beautiful, glossy, and satin- 
like appearance. The hoofs were then blacked and 
polished, the mouths washed, teeth picked and cleaned ; 
and, the leopard-skin housings being properly adjusted, 
the white chargers were led out for service. Such was 
the grooming of ancient times.f 

* Colonel Byi-d, of Westover, son of Colonel William Byrd, some of whose let 
ters are printed in the Memoir of Mr. Custis, in another part of this volume. 

t Washington's stables in Philadelphia, were upon a narrow lane, now called 
Miner street, below Sixth. There he had ten fine bays and two white chargers. 
Samuel Breck, Esq., now [July, 1859,] eighty-eight years of age, informed me a 



398 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

It was while residing in Cherry street that the presi- 
dent was attacked by a severe ilhiess, that required 
a surgical operation. He was attended by the elder 
and younger Drs. Bard. The elder being somewhat 
doubtful of his nerves, gave the knife to his son, bidding 
him "cut away — deeper, deeper still; don't be afraid; 
you see how well he bears it." Great anxiety was felt 
in. New York at this time, as the president's case Avas 
considered extremely dangerous. Happily, the operation 
proved successful, and the patient's recovery removed all 
cause of alarm. During the illness a chain was stretched 
across the street, and the sidewalks were laid with straw.* 
Soon after his recovery, the president set out on his in- 
tended tour through the New England states.-|- 

few weeks since, that when a young man, lie often visited those stables, with his 
friends from other places, to show them Washington's horses. These constituted 
one of the most attractive "lions" of Philadelphia. He had frequently seen Wash- 
ington and his family riding in his beautiful cream-colored English coach, with six 
of these shining bay horses before it. 

* His disease was a malignant carbuncle, which, at one time, seemed to be incnra^ 
ble, as mortification was continually threatened. He was attended night and day 
by Doctor Samuel Bard, one of the most enlightened and skilful physici.ins and 
surgeons of that day. The painful tumor was upon his thigh, and w.is brought on 
by the excitements and labors which he had undergone since his inauguration. On 
the third of July he wrote to his friend, James M'Henry, of Baltimore, informing 
him that the tumor was likely to prove beneficial to his general health, and that 
then he was able to exercise in his coach. To Mr. M'Henry's suirgestion that Dr. 
Craik should be sent for, Washington replied, that it would gratify him much to 
have his old friend with him, but, since he could not enjoy that benefit, he thought 
himself "fortunate in having fallen into such good hands," as Dr. Bard's. Doctor 
M'Vickar, in his life of Bard, alluding to this illness of the president, relates that, 
on one occasion, being left alone with him, the sufferer, looking the physician stead- 
ily in the face, desired his candid opinion as to the probable termination of his 
disease, adding, with perfect composure — "Do not flatter me with vain hopes; 1 
am not afraid to die, and therefore can hear the worst." Dr. Bard expressed a 
hope, but acknowledged his apprehensions. Washington replied, with the same 
coolness, " Whether to-night or twenty years hence, makes no difference; I know 
that I am in the hands of a good Providence." 

t This tour was commenced on Thursday, the fifteenth of October, 1789, and oc- 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 399 

The president's mansion was so limited in accommo- 
dation that three of the secretaries were compelled to 
occupy one room — Humphreys, Lewis, and Nelson. 
Humphre3^s, aid-de-camp to the commander-in-chief at 
Yorktown, was a most estimable man, and at the same 
time a poet. About this period he was composing his 
"Widow of Malabar."^'' Lewis and Nelson, both young 
men, were content, after the labors of the day, to enjoy 
a good night's repose. But this was often denied them ; 
for Humphreys, when in the vein, would rise from his 
bed at any hour, and, with stentorian voice, recite his 
verses. The young men, roused from their slumbers, 
and rubbing their eyes, beheld a great burly figure, " en 
chemise" striding across the floor, reciting with great em- 
phasis particular passages from his poem, and calling on 
his room-mates for their approbation. Having in this 
way for a considerable time " murdered the sleep" of his 
associates, Humphreys at length, wearied by his exer- 
tions, would sink upon his pillow in a kind of dreamy 
languor. So sadly were the young secretaries annoyed 
by the frequent outbursts of the poet's imagination, that 
it was remarked of them by their friends that, from 1789, 
to the end of their lives, neither Robert Lewis nor 
Thomas Nelson were ever known to evince the slightest 
taste for poetry. 

cupied nearly a month. Major Jackson, Mr. Lear, and six servants composed his 
1 retinue. Chief Justice Jay, and Generals Hamilton and Knox, accompanied them 
' 8ome distance out of the city. He returned on the thirteenth of November. In his 
1 diary of that date he says — "Between two and three o'clock arrived at my house 

at New York, where I found Mrs. Washington and the rest of the family all well — 
! and it being Mrs. Washington's night to receive visits, a pretty large company of 
' ladies and gentlemen were present." 

I * The Widow of Malabar, or the Tyranny of Custom, is a tragedy, translated from 
I the French of M. Le Mierre. It was brought out in Philadelphia, in May, 1790, by 
j the old American company, in which Hallam, Wignell, Harper, Biddle, Martin. 



400 REOOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The mansion in Cherry street proving so very incon- 
venient, induced the French ambassador to give up his 
estabhshment — McComb's new house in Broadway — 
for the accommodation of the president * It was from 
this house in 1790 that Washington took his fmal de- 
parture from New York.f It was always his habit to 
endeavor, as much as possible, to avoid the manifestor 
tions of affection and gratitude that met him every 
where. He strove in vain ; he was closely watched, and I 
the people would have their way. He wished to have 
slipped off unobserved from New York, and thus steal a 
march upon his old companions-in-arms. But there were j 
too many of the dear glorious old veterans of the Revo- * 
lution at that time of day in and near New York to 
render such an escape even possible. 

The baggage had all been packed up ; the horses, car- 
riages, and servants ordered to be over the ferry to 
Paulus's Hook, by daybreak, and nothing was wanting 

Henry, Mrs. Henry, and Miss Tuke, were the performers. The prologue was 
written by John Trumbull, the author of M'Fingall, and was spoken by Mr. Hal- 
lam. The epilogue was written by Mr. Humphreys, and was spoken by Mrs. 
Henry. 

* Washington, in his diary, under date of February first, 1790, says: "Agreed 
on Saturday last to take Mr. M'Combs's house, lately occupied by the minister of 
France, for one year from and after the first day of May next. . . This day sent my 
secretary to examine the rooms to see how my furniture could be adapted to the 
respective apartments." On Wednesday, the third, he records — " Visited the apart- 
ments in the house of Mr. M'Combs ; made a disposition of the rooms ; fixed on 
some furniture of the minister's (which was to be sold, and was well adapted to par- 
ticular public rooms), and directed additional stables to be built." On the twenty- 
second he records — " Set seriously about removing my furniture to my new house. 
Two of the gentlemen of the family had their beds taken there, and will sleep 
there to-night." This house was on Broadway, west side, a little below Trinity 
church. It was subsequently occupied as a hotel, and was called the Mansion- 
House, from the fact that it had been the presidential mansion. 

t The seal of government was removed to Philadelphia that year, and CongreM 
assembled in that city, on the first Monday of December following. 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 401 

for departure but the dawn. The lights were yet burn- 
ing, when the president came into the room where his 
family were assembled, evidently much pleased in the 
belief that all was right, when, immediately under the 
windows, the band of the artillery struck up Washing- 
ton's March. " There !" he exclaimed, " it's all over ; we 
are found put. Well, well, they must have their own 
way." New York soon after appeared as if taken by 
storm; troops and persons of all descriptions hurrying 
down JBroadway toward the place of embarcation, all 
anxious to take a last look on him whom so many could 
never expect to see again. 

The embarcation w^as delayed until all the complimen- 
tary arrangements were completed. The president, after 
taking leave of many dear and cherished friends, and 
many an old companion-in-arms, stepped into the barge 
that was to convey him from New York for ever. The 
coxswain gave the word "• let fall ;" the spray from the 
oars sparkled in the morning sunbeams; the bowman 
shoved off from the pier, and, as the barge swung round 
to the tide, Washington, rose, uncovered, in the stern, to 
bid adieu to the masses assembled on the shore ; he 
waved his hat, and, in a voice tremulous from emotion, 
pronounced farewell. It may be supposed that Major 
Bauman,* who commanded the artillery on this interest- 
ing occasion, who was first captain of Lamb's regiment, 
and a favorite officer of the War of the Revolution, would, 
when about to pay his last respects to his beloved com- 
mander, load his pieces with something more than mere 

* Major Sebastian Bauman was a meritorious artillery officer during the war. He 
was at West Point at the time of Arnold's treason ; was at the siege of Yorktown, 
j and was postmaster at New York thirteen consecitive years, commencing in 1790, 
when Washington appointed him. 

26 



402 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

blank cartridges. But ah ! the thunders of the cannon 
were completely hushed when the mighty shout of the 
people arose that resj)onded to the farewell of Washing- 
ton. Pure from the heart it came ; right up to Heaven 
it went, to call down a blessing upon the Father of his 
Country. 

The barge had scarcely gained the middle of the Hud- 
son when trumpets were heard at Paulus's Hook,* where 
the governor-]- and the chivalry of Jersey were in waiting i{ 
to welcome the chief to those well-remembered shores. 
Escorts of cavalry relieved each other throughout the j 
whole route, up to the Pennsylvania line ; every village,* ' 
and even hamlet, turned out its population to greet with 
cordial welcome the man upon whom all eyes were fixed, 
and in whom all hearts rejoiced. 

What must have been the recollections that crowded 
on the mind of Washington during this triumphant pro- 
gress ? Newark, Brunswick, Princeton, Trenton ! What 
a contrast between the glorious burst of sunshine that 
now illumined and made glad everything around these 
memorable spots, with the gloomy and desolate remem- 
brances of '76 ! TJien his country's champion, with the 
wreck of a shattered host, was flying before a victorious 
and well-appointed foe, while all around him was shroud- 
ed in the darkness of despair ; now, ir his ^orious prog- 
ress over the self-same route, his firm footstep presses 
upon the soil of an infant empire, reposing in the joys 
of peace, independence, and happiness. 

Among the many who swelled his triumph, the most 
endeared to the heart of the chief were the old associates 

* Now Jersey City, opposite New York. 
t Governor Ricliard Howell, of New Jersey. 



THE FIRST YEAR OF THE PRESIDENCY. 403 

of his toils, his fortunes, and his fame. Many of the 
Revolutionary veterans were living in 1790, and, by 
their presence, gave a dignified tone and character to all 
public assemblages ; and when you saw a peculiarly fine- 
looking soldier in those old days, and would ask, " to 
what corps of the American army did you belong?" 
drawing himself up to his full height, with a martial air, 
and back of the hand thrown up to his forehead, the vet- 
eran would reply, " Life-Guard, your honor."'^ 

And proud and happy were these veterans in again 
beholding their own good Lady Wasliingion. Greatly wa?/ 
*she beloved in the army. Her many intercessions with 
the chief for the pardon of offenders, and her kind- 
ness to the sick and wounded, caused her annual arrival 
in camp to be hailed as an event that would serve to dis- 
sipate the gloom of the winter-quarters. 

Arrived at the line, the Jersey escort was relieved by 
the cavalry of Pennsylvania ; and when near to Philadel- 
phia, the president was met by Governor Mifflinf and a 
brilliant cortege of officers, and escorted by a squadron 

* See chapter vii. 

t Thomas Mifflin was born in Philadelphia, of Quaker parents, in the year 1774. 
He was trained in all the strictness of the sect. He prepared for mercantile life, and 
at quite an early age made a voyage to Europe. In 1772, he was elected a repre- 
sentative in the colonial assembly of his province, and in 1774, being recognised as a 
warm republican, he was chosen a representative in the continental Congress. The 
following year he entered the military service, accompanied Washington to Cam- 
bridge, as his aid, and in the spring of 1776, was commissioned a brigadier in the 
continental army. He was promoted to major-general in February, 1777, and con- 
tinued in service until near the close of the war. In the autumn of 1 783, he was 
chosen president of Congress, of which he was a member, and received from Wash- 
ington his commission, when he resigned it. In 1785 he was a member of the Penn- 
sylvania legislature, and in 1787 was a member of the federal convention. He was 
I elected governor of Pennsylvania in 1790, and held that office nine years. He re- 
I tired from it in December 1799, and expired at Lancaster the following month, at 
I the age of fifty-six years. 



404 RECOLLECTIONS OF AVASHINGTON. 

of liorse to the city. Conspicuous among the governor's 
suite, as well for his martial bearing as for the manly 
beauty of his person, was General Walter Stewart, a son 
of Erin, and a gallant and distinguished officer of the 
Pennsylvania line. To Stewart, as to Cadwalader, 
AVashington was most wamily attached ; indeed, those 
officers were among the very choicest of the contribu- 
tions of Pennsylvania to the army and cause of Independ- 
ence. Mifflin, small in stature, was active, alert, " every 
inch a soldier." He was a patriot of great influence in 
Pennsylvania in the " times that tried men's souls," and 
nobly did he exert that influence in raising troops, with 
Avhich to reinforce the wreck of the grand army at the 
close of the campaign of '76. 

Arrived within the city, the crowd became intense. 
The president left his carriage and mounted the white 
charger ; and, with the governor on his right, proceeded 
to the City Tavern in South Second street,'^ where quar- 
ters were prepared for him, the light-infantry, after some 
time, having opened a passage for the carriages. At the 
City Tavern the president was received by the authori- 
ties of Philadelphia, who welcomed the chief magistrate 
to their city as to his home for the remainder of his 
presidential term. A group of old and long-tried friends 
were also in waiting. Foremost among these, and first 
to grasp the hand of Washington, was one who was al- 

* The City Tavern was then, and had been since its erection in 1770, the leading 
public-house in Philadelpliia. It was in South Second, near Walnut street. It 
was the gathering-place for the members of the continental Congress ; and from it 
one of the most remarkable processions ever known, was seen on the fifth of Sep- 
tember, 1774. John Adams, in his diary, says : " At ten, the delegates all met at 
the City Tavern, and walked to the Carpenter's Hall." Within an hour afterward, 
the first Congress w.as organized by the appointment of Peyton Randolph as presi- 
dent, and Charles Thomson as secretarv. 



THE FIRST YEAR 01 THE PRESIDENCY. 405 

ways nearest to his heart, a patriot and public benefactor, 
Kobert Morris. 

After remaining a short time in Philadelphia, the pres- 
ident speeded on his journey to that home where he ever 
found rest from his mighty labors, and enjoyed the sweets 
of rural and domestic happiness amid his farms and at 
his fireside of Mount Vernon. 

Onward, still onward, flows the tide of time. The few 
who yet survive that remember the father of his country, 
are fast fading away. A little while, and their gray heads 
will all have dropped into the grave. May the reminis- 
cences of one whom Washington adopted in infancy, 
cherished in youth, and who grew up to manhood under 
his parental care, continue to find favor with the Ameri- 
can people ! 



406 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXL 

Washington's home and household * 

Obder — Public Days while President — "Washington's Aversion to Show and Pomp — 
Congressional and Diplomatic Dinners — Mrs. Washington's Evening Parties — The 
Cincinnati — 'Washington's Attention to Private Concerns — His Economy — His En- 
deavors to avoid Personal Attentions — His Keception eveey-vvuere — Colonel 
Proctor — Colonel Kogees — General Charles Scott — An Irish Soldier at the Pres- 
idential Mansion — The Wrath of Washington — His Sense of Justice — First In- 
terview with St. Clair after his Defeat — Washington's Steward — His Extrava- 
gance Keproved — The Chief Cook of the Presidential Mansion — His Chaeaotee 
and Habits — The Coaohman — The Coach in which the President made his Tour 
through the Southern States — The Stables in Philadelphia — The Chargers and 
the Coach-Horses — Almost a Catastrophe — Washington's Punctuality — Scenes on 
THE National Anniversaries — Reflections. 

Wherevek Washington established a home — whether 
temporary or fixed, whether amid the log huts of Morris- 
town or the Valley Forge, the presidential mansions in 
New York or Philadelphia, or his own beloved Momit 
Yernon — everywhere order, method, punctuality, econ- 
omy reigned. His household, whether civil or military, 
was always upon a liberal scale, and was conducted with 
due regard to economy and usefulness. 

The public days of the first president of the United 
States, were two in each week. On Tuesday from three 
to four o'clock, a levee was held for foreign ministers, 
strangers, and others, who could there be presented to 

* Tlio earlier portion of this chapter was written in July, 1827, and published 
in the Alexandria Gazette. The latter portion, commencing with a notice of Fraunces, 
the steward, was written and published in a Baltimore paper, in April, 1849. 



WASHINGTOI^'S TOME AND HOUSEIIOID. 407 

the chief magistrate, without the formality of letters of 
introduction. It was, indeed more an arrangement of 
nuitual convenience to the parties, than an affair of state ; 
still it was objected to by some, at that time of da}^, as 
savoring rather of monarchal etiquette, than of the 
simpler customs which should distinguish a republic.^ — 
Who thinks so now ? In truth, the first president was 
so occupied with the multiplicity of public concerns, at- 
tendant on the outset of a new government, that it be- 
came necessary to limit the time of visiters of mere cere- 
mony, as much as possible ; and the levee enabled all 
such personages to pay their respects within the moder- 
ate compass of an hour. The world is always governed 
in a considerable degree by form and usage. There 
never lived a man more averse to show^ and pomp than 
Washington. Plain in his habits, there was none to whom 
the details of official parade and ceremony could be less 
desirable ; but correct in all his varied stations of life, 
the days of the first presidency will ever appear as 
among the most dignified and imposing in our country's 
annals.'^ 

* In a letter to Doctor Stuart, Washington gives an account of the origin of his 
levees. " Before the custom was establislied," he says, " which now accommodates 
foreign characters, strangers, and others, who, from motives of curiosity, respect for 
the chief magistrate, or any other cause, are induced to call upon me, I was unable 
to attend to any business whatever; for gentlemen, consulting their own convenience 
rather than mine, were calling after the time I rose from breakfast, and often before, 
until I sat down to dinner. This, as I resolved not to neglect my public duties, 
reduced me to the choice of one of these alternatives : either to refuse visits alto 
^ther, or to appropriate a time for the reception of tiiem. The first would, I knew, 
he disgusting to many ; the latter, I expected, would undergo animadversions from 
those who would find fault with or without cause. To please everybody was im- 
possible. I, therefore, adopted tliat line of conduct which combined public advan- 
tage with private convenience, and which, in my judgment, was unexceptionable in 
itself. . . .These visits are optional ; they are made without invitation ; between the 
Hours of three and four every Tuesday, I am prepared to receive them. Gentlemen, 



408 RECOLLECTIONS OF WxVSIUNGTON. 

On Thursday the president g.ave his congressional and 
diplomatic dinners ; and on Friday night, Mrs. Washing- 
ton received company at what was then, and is still, 
called the drawing-room * 

often in great numbers, come and go, chat with each other, and act as they please. 
A porter shows them into the room, and they retire from it when they choose, with- 
out ceremony. At their first entrance they salute me, and I them, and as many as 
I can I talk to." 

* See note on page 396. Mr. Wansey, an English traveller, who published an 
account of his Excursion in the United States, in 1795, says, that the democrats 
" objected to these drawing-rooms of Mrs. Washington, as tending to give her a 
super-eminency, and as introductory to the paraphernalia of courts." After quoting 
this, Dr. Griswold, in his Republican Court, remarks : " With what feelings the ex- 
cellent woman regarded these democrats is shown by an anecdote of the same period. 
She was a severe disciplinarian, and Nelly Custis was not often permitted by her to 
be idle, or to follow her own caprices. The young girl was compelled to practise at 
the harpsichord four or five hours every day, and one morning, when she should 
have been playing, her grandmother entered the room, remarking that she had not 
heard the music, and also that she had observed some person going out, whose name 
she would very much like to know. Nelly was silent, and suddenly her attention 
was arrested by a blemish on the wall, wiiich had been newly painted a delicate 
cream color. ' Ah ! it was no federalist,' she exclaimed, looking at the spot just 
above a setter ; " none but a filthy democrat would mark a place with his good-for- 
nothing head in that manner! " 

Samuel York Atlee, Esq. of Washington city, called the attention of Mr. Custis 
to this statement, when the venerable author of these Recollections, in a letter to that 
gentleman, on the 29th of December, 1854, remarked : — 

" As to the story of Nelly Custis, my sister, practising very long and very un- 
willingly at the harpsichord, that part of the tale of Wansei/ is true. The poor girl 
would play and cry, and cry and play, for long hours, under the immediate eye of 
her grandmother, a rigid disciplinarian in all things. 

" As to the absurd details that chronicle a saying of Mrs. Wa.shington, touching 
democrats, no one, my dear sir, who knew that venerable lady, or who had ever 
heard of her, will believe a word of it. As the esteemed Lady AVashington of the 
army of Independence, or the Lady president of later days, Mrs. Washington vrrs 
remarkable for her affable and dignified manners, and her courteous and kindly de- 
meanor to all who approached her. Again, it is notorious that the politicians and 
statesmen of both parties were equally well and kindly received at the presidental 
mansion, where were wehomed Mr. Gallatin, Mr. Giles, and others of the chiefs of 
the democratic party, as well as Mr. Ames, Mr. Sedgwick, and otiiers of the feder- 
alists. 

" I can, with great truth, aver that, in the whole period of the first presidency, I 



WASHINGTOlfs HOME AND HOUSEHOLD. 409 

The president attended Mrs. Washington's evening 
parties, and paid his compliments to the circle of ladies, 
with that ease and elegance of manners for which he 
was remarkable. Among the most polished and well- 
bred gentlemen of his time, he was always particularly 
polite to ladies, even in the rugged scenes of war ; and, 
in advanced age, many were tlie youthful swains who 
sighed for those gracious smiles with which the fair al- 
ways received the attentions of this old beau of sixty- 
five. 

An interesting class of persons were to be found at 
the side of the chief, on both his public and private days, 
who gave a feeling and character to every scene, and 
threw a charm over very many of the associations of 
more than thirty years ago. We mean the patriots and 
heroes of the Revolution. Among the finest recollections 
of those gone-by days, were of the anniversary of inde- 
pendence, when the gray-haired brethren of the Cin- 
cinnati assembled around their illustrious president-gene- 
ral, many of them seamed with scars, and all bearing the 
badge of the most honored association upon earth:^ These 

never heard Mrs. Washington engage in any political controversy, or, indeed, touch 
on the subject of politics at all. 

" Another remark, and I have done. 

" The sitting parlor, into which all visiters were shown, was papered, not " painted ;" 
but even had it been painted A la Grisirold, things were better ordered in the house 
of the first president than that a gentleman-visiter, on leaning against the wainscot, 
should leave his mark behind him." 

* The society of the Cincinnati, composed of officers of the continental army, 
was organized in 1783. It was conceived by General Henry Knox, and when he 
communicated his ideas on the subject to Washington, he heartily approved of it. 
A committee, consisting of Generals Knox, Hand, and Huntington, and Captain 
Shaw, was appointed to put the propositions of several who were interested in the 
matter into a proper form. This committee reported at a meeting held at the quar- 
ters of the Baron Steuben, in Fishkill, Duchess county, nearly opposite Newburgh 



410 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

venerated forms are now rarely to be seen, and soon will 
be seen no more ; but like Ossian's shadowy heroes, they 
will appear through the mists of time, and their heroic 
lives and actions will inspire the bards of liberty, while 
liberty exists to bless mankind. 

Notwithstanding his great occupation in public affairs, 
the first president by no means neglected his private 
concerns. He was in the habit of receiving regular and f 
length 3^^ reports from the agents of his estates in Virginia, 
and directed by letter the management of those exten- 
sive establishments, with both consummate skill and sue- i 
cess. He also inspected the weekly accounts and dis- ' 
bursements of his household in Philadelphia. Indeed, 
nothing seemed to escape the discerning mind of this 
wonderful man, " who had a time for all things, and did 
everything in its proper time," and in order. 

(the headquarters of the army were at the latter place), an'! the society was duly 
organized. 

As it was composed of officers who had served their countr}', and were ahout to 
resume their several domestic employments, they called themselves the Cincinnati, 
in honor of that illustrious Roman, Lticius Quintus Cincinnatiis, whose noble example 
they were about to follow. The chief objects of the society were to promote cordial 
friendship and indissoluble union amonp^ themselves ; to commemorate by frequent 
re-unions the great struggle they had just passed through ; to use their best endeavors 
for the promotion of human liberty; to cherish good feeling between the respective 
states ; and to extend benevolent aid to those of the society whoso circumstances 
might require it. They formed a general society, and elected Washington the 
president, and Knox the secretary. The former held his office until his death, and 
was succeeded by General Alexander Hamilton. For greater convenience, state 
societies were organized, which were auxilliarj'to the parent society. To perpetuate 
the association, it was provided in the constitution, that the eldest male descendiuit 
of an original member should be entitled to membership on the decease of such 
member, "in failure thereof, the collateral branches, who may be judged worthy of 
becoming its Supporters and members." They also adopted an Onkr, to be worn 
whenever the society should meet. For a full account of this scK-iety, with dclino- 
ntions of its Order and certificate of membership, see Lossing's Field-Book of Uie 
Revolution, i. 694. 



Washington's home and household. 411 

General Washington was a practical economist : while 
he wished that his style of living should be fully in char- 
acter with his exalted station, he was utterly averse to 
waste or extravagance of any sort. He frequently repri- 
manded his first steward, Fraunces (the same at whose 
hotel, in Kew York, the general-in-chief took leave of his 
brother-officers), for expenditures wliich appeared to be 
both unnecessary and extravagant.* 

The first president took considerable pains, and used 
frequent stratagems, in endeavoring to avoid the num- 
berless manifestations of attachment and respect which 
awaited him wherever he went. On his journeys, he 
charged the courier who would precede to engage ac- 
commodations at the inns, by no means to mention the 
coming of the president to other than the landlord. 
These precautions but rarely took effect ; and often when 
the chief would suppose that he had stolen a march upon 
his old companions-in-arms and fellow-citizens, a horse- 
man would be discovered dashing off at full speed, 

* This steward was Samuel Fraunces (commonly called Black Sam, because of 
his dark complexion), who kept a public house on the corner of Pearl and Broad 
streets, New York. When Washington and his army occupied the city, in the 
summer of 1776, the chief resided at Kichmond hill, a 'little out of town, after- 
ward the seat of Aaron Burr. Fraunces's daughter was Washington's housekeeper, 
j and she saved his life on one occasion, by exposing the intentions of Hickey, one of 
I the Life-Guard (already mentioned), who was about to murder the general, by put- 
ting poison in a dish of peas prepared for his table. In 178.5, when Washington 
I wished a good cook at Mount Vernon, he applied to Fraunces to recommend one to 
, him. At the time he was appointed steward, the following advertisement an- 
I peared : — 

I *' Whereas, all servants and others appointed to procure provisions or supplies 
I for the household of the Pkesident of the United States, will be furnished 
with moneys for these purposes : Notice is therefore given, that no accounts, for the 
payment of which the public might be considered responsible, are to be opened 
I with any of tliem. 
1 "May 4, 1789. SxuvEh Fravhces, Steivard to the Eouseholi." 



412 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

and soon would be licard tlie trumpet of the volunteer- 
cavalry ; and the village cannon, roused from its bed of 
neglect, where it had lain since warlike time, would sum- 
mon all within reach of its echoes, to haste and bid wel- 
come to the man who was " first in the hearts of hia 
countrymen." Every village and little hamlet poured forth 
their population to greet the arrival of him who all de- 
lighted to honor. A kind of jubilee attended every- 
where the progress of the patriot chief; for even thd 
school children, with the curiosity incident to that age 
of innocence, would labor hard at the daily lesson, and 
leave the birch to hang idly on the wall, when to see 
General Washwgton was the expected holyday and reward; 
and many of these children, now the parents of children, I 
while recalling the golden hours of infancy, wdll dwell 
with delight on the time when they were presented to 
the paternal chief, and recount how they heard the kind- 
ly sounds of his voice, felt the kindlier touch of his hand, 
or climbed his knee, to " share the good man's smile." 
Pure, happy, and honored recollections ! they will de- 
scend like traditionary lore from generation to genera- 
tion, venerable to all future time. 

In the frequent trial of generalship between the chief 
and his ancient comrade-in-arms — the one seeking to 
avoid the testimonies of respect and attachment, which 
the other was equally studious to oJBfer — the late Colonel 
Proctor,* a gallant and distinguished officer of .artillery, 
was several times out-generalled — the president having 
reached the seat of government privately and unobserved. 

This roused the good old colonel, who declared, " He 

i 

* Colonel Thomas Proctor was in the battles of Brandywine, Germantomi, and i 
Monmouth, and was with Sullivan in his famous campaign against the Indians 



Washington's home and household. 413 

shall not serve me so again ; I'll warrant that my matches 
will be found lighted next time." 

At the ferry of the Susqiiehannah, lived a veteran 
worthy of the Revolutionary day, where the presi- 
dent always took quarters on his journeys to and from 
his seat in Virginia. As the boat touched the shore, 
punctual to the moment and true to his post, stood Col- 
onel Rogers, prepared to hand Mrs. Washington to his 
house. It was his claim, his privilege ; like the claims 
at a coronation, it had been put in and allowed, and, 
verily, the veteran would not have yielded it to an em- 
peror.* 

The late General Charles Scott had a most inveterate 
habit of swearing ; whether in private or public society, 
on his farm, or the field of battle, every other word was 
an oath. On the night preceding the battle of Prince- 
ton, Scott received an order from the commander-in-chief 
in person to defend a bridge to the last extremity. " To 
the last man, your excellency," replied Scott ; and, for- 
getting the presence of his chief, accompanied the words 
with tremendous oaths. The general, as may be well 
supposed, had but little time, on that eventful evening, 
to notice or chide this want of decorum in his brave and 
well-tried soldier. After the war, a friend of the gallant 
general, anxious to reform his evil habits, asked him 
whether it was possible that the man so much beloved, 
! the admired Washington, ever swore? Scott reflected 
I for a moment, and then exclaimed, " Yes, once. It was 
i at Monmouth, and on a day that would have made any 



* At the Head of Elk, was a veteran named Tommy Giles (who had served 
Washington as an express rider), who always claimed, and received, the same 
honor. 



414 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

man swear. Yes, sir, he swore on that day, till the 
leaves shook on the trees, charming, delightful. Never 
have I enjoyed such swearing before, or since. Sir, on 
that ever-memorable day he swore like an angel from 
Heaven."* The reformer abandoned the general in de- 
spair. 

During the first presidency, the door of the mansion 
gathered but little rust on its hinges, while its latch was 
often lifted by the " broken soldier." Scarce a day passed 
that some veteran of the heroic time did not present 
himself at headqiimiers. The most tattered of these t^rpeg 
of the days of privation and trial were " kindly bid to 
stay," were offered refreshment, and a glass of something 
to their old general's health, and then dismissed with 
lighter hearts, and heavier pouches. So passed the 
many, but not so with one of Erin's sons. It was about 
the hour of the Tuesday levee, when German John, the 
porter, opened to a hearty rap, expecting to admit at 
least a dignitary of the land, or foreign ambassador, when 
who should march into the hall but an old fellow, whose 
weather-beaten countenance, and w^ell-worn apparel, 
showed him to be " no carpet knight." His introduction 
was short, but to the purpose. He had " come to head- 
quarters to see his honor's excellence, God bless him." 

* Charles Scott was a native of Cumberland county, in Virginia. He raised the 
first company of volunteers in that state, south of the James river, that actually en- 
tered into the continental service. So much was he appreciated, that, in 1777, the 
shire-town of Powh.itan county was named in honor of him. Conjjress appointed 
him a brigadier in the continental army on the first of April, 1777. He served with 
distinction durinj:^ the war, and at its termination he went to Kentucky. He settled 
in Woodford county, in that state, in 1 78.5. He was with St. Clair at his defeat in 
1791 ; and in 1794 he commanded a portion of Wayne's army at the battle of the 
Fallen Timber. He was governor of Kentucky from 1808 to 1812. He died on the 
twenty-second of October, 1820, aged seventy-four years. 



Washington's home and household. 415 

He was an old soldier. In vain the porter assured liim 
that it would be impossible to see the president at that 
time; a great company was momently expected — the 
hall was not a fitting place — would he go to the stew- 
ard's apartment and get something to drink ? To all 
which Pat replied, that he was in no hurry ; that he would 
wait his honor's leisure ; and, taking a chair, composed 
and made himself comfortable. And now passed minis- 
ters of state and foreign ministers, senators, judges ; the 
great and the gay. Meanwhile, poor Pat stoutly main- 
tained his post, gazing on the crowd, till the levee having 
ended, and the president about to retire to his library, 
he was informed that an obstinate Irishman had taken 
possession of the hall, and would be satisfied with noth- 
ing short of an interview with the president himself 
The chief good-naturedly turned into the hall. So soon 
as the veteran saw his old commander, he roared out : 
"Long life to your honor's excellence," at the same time 
hurling his hat to the floor, and erecting himself with 
military precision. " Your honor will not remember me, 
though many is the day that I have marched under your 
orders, and many's the hard knocks I've had, too. I be- 
longed to Wayne's brigade — 3fad Anthony, the British 
called him, and, by the power, he was always mad 
enough for them. I was wounded in the battle of Ger- 
mantown. Hurrah for America ! and it does my heart 
good to see your honor ; and how is the dear lady and 
all the little ones?" Here the usually grave tempera- 
j ment of Washington gave way, as, with a smile, he re- 
\ plied, he was well, as was Mrs. Washington, but they 
\ were unfortunate in having no children ; then pressing 
a token into the soldier's hand, he ascended the staircase 



416 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

to his library. The Irishman followed with his eyes the 
retiring general, then looked again and again upon the 
token, which he had received from his honor's own hand^ 
pouched it, recovered his hat, which he placed with mil- 
itary exactness a little on one side, then took up his line 
of march, and as he passed the porter, called out, " There 
now, you Hessian fellow, you see that his honor's excel- 
lence has not forgotten an oiild soldier.^' 

These anecdotes, though simple in themselves, possess 
no common character. They are Tales of the Days of 
Washington, and tales of the heart. We proceed to some- ■ 
thing more grave. i 

The president was dining, when an officer arrived from 
the western army with despatches, his orders requiring 
that he should deliver them only to the commander-in- 
chief The president retired, but soon reappeared, bear- 
ing in his hand an open letter. No change was per- ■ 
ceptible in his countenance, as addressing the company I 
he observed that the army of St. Clair had been surprised 
by the Indians, and w\as cut to pieces.* The company 

* For several yenrs after the peace of 1783, British agents on the northwestern 
frontier of the United States, continued to tamper with the Indians, and excite them 
to hostilities against the people of the new republic. The Indians showed growing 
discontent for some time, and finally, in the spring of 1790, these developed into 
open hostilities. All attempts at pacific arrangements were fruitless, and a stron'r 
force, under General Ilarmer, was sent into the Indian country, north of the present 
citv of Cincinnati, to desolate the Indian villages and crops, in order to impress them 
with terror. This accomplished, he penetrated deeper, and in two battles (October 
17 and 22, 1790), near the present village of Fort Wayne, in Indiana, he was de- 
feated, with considerable loss. The following year. General Scott led some Ken- 
tucky volunteers against the Indians on the Wabash ; and another marched thither 
in July following, under General Wilkinson. General St. Clair was then governor 
of the Northwestern territory, and in September,. 1791, he marched against the 
Indians, at the head of two thousand men. While in camp, near the northern lino 
of the present Darke country, in Ohio, on the fourth of November, he was surprised 
and defeated. 



Washington's home and household. 417 

soon after retired. The president repaired to his private 
parlor, attended by Mr. Lear, his principal secretary, and 
a scene ensued of which our pen can give but a feeble 
description. 

The chief paced the room in hurried strides. In his 
agony, he struck his clenched hands with fearful force 
against his forehead, and in a paroxysm of anguish ex- 
claimed : " That brave army, so officered — Butler, Fergu- 
son, Kirkwood — such officers are not to be replaced in a 
day — that brave army cut to pieces. God!" Then 
turning to the secretary, who stood amazed at a spectacle 
so unique, as Washington in all his terrors, he continued : 
" It was here, sir, in this very room, that I conversed 
with St. Clair, on the very eve of his departure for the 
West. I remarked, I shall not interfere, general, with 
the orders of General Knox, and the war department ; 
they are sufficiently comprehensive and judicious ; but, 
as an old soldier, as one whose early life was particularly 
engaged in Indian warfare, I feel myself competent to 
counsel ; General St. Clair, in three words, beware of 
surprise ; trust not the Indian ; leave not your arms for 
a moment ; and when you halt for the night, be sure to 
fortify your camp — again and again, general, beware of 
surprise. And yet that brave army surprised, and cut 
to pieces, with Butler, and an host of others slain, 
God !" Here the struggle ended, as with mighty efforts 
the hero chained down the rebellious giant of passion, 
and Washington became " himself again." In a subdued 
tone of voice, he proceeded : " But he shall have justice ; 
yes, long, faithful, and meritorious services have their 
claims. I repeat — he shall have justice." 

Thus concluded a scene as remarkable as rare. It 

27 



418 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

served to display this great man as nature had made 
him, with passions fierce and impetuous, which, hke the 
tornado of the tropics, would burst for a while in awful 
grandeur, and then show, in higher relief, a serene and 
brilliant sky * 

* The venerable Richard Rush, who died at his beautiful seat of Sydenham, near 
Philadelphia, while these pages were in preparation, has given in a thin volume, en- 
titled Washington in Domestic Life, the following account of this matter, which cor- 
responds with that of Mr. Custis, written thirty years before. Mr. Custis doubtless 
also received his information from the lips of Mr. Lear : — 

" Au anecdote I derived from Colonel Lear," says Mr. Rush, "shortly before 
liis death in 1816, may here be related, showing the height to which Washington's 
passion would rise, yet be controlled. It belongs to his domestic life, with which I 
am dealing, having occurred under his own roof, while if marks public feeling the 
most intense, and points to the moral of his life. I give it in Colonel Lear's words, 
as near as I can, having made a note of them at the time. 

"Toward the close of a winter's day in 1791, an officer in uniform was seen to 
dismount in front of the president's house, in Philadelphia, and giving the bridle to 
his servant, knocked at the door of the mansion. Learning from the porter tiiat the 
president was at dinner, he said he was on public business and had despatches for 
the president. A servant was sent into the dining-room to give the information to 
Mr. Lear, who left the table and went into the hall, where the oflScer repeated what 
he had said. Mr. Lear replied that, as the president's secretary, he would take 
charge of the despatches and deliver them at the proper time. The officer made 
answer, that he had just arrived from the western army, and his orders were to de- 
liver them with all promptitude, and to the president in person ; but that he would 
wait his directions. Mr. Lear returned, and in a whisper imparted to the president 
what had passed. General Washington rose from the table, and went to the officer. 
He was back in a short time, made a word of apology for his absence, but no allu- 
sion to the cause of it. He had company that day. Everything went on as usual. 
Dinner over, the gentlemen passed to the drawing-room of Mrs. Wasiiington, which 
was open in the evening. The general spoke courteously to every lady in the room, 
as was his custom. His hours were early, and by ten o'clock all the company h.-'d 
gone. Mrs. Washington and Mr. Lear remained. Soon Mrs. Washington left the 
room. 

" The general now walked backward and forward for some minutes without speak- 
ing. Then he sat down on a sofa by the fire, telling Mr. Lear to sit down. To 
this moment there had been no change in his manner since his interruption at the 
table. Mr. Lear now perceived emotion. This rising in him, he broke out sudden- 
ly, " It 's all over — St. Clair's defeated — routed ; the officers nearly all killed, the 
men by wholesale ; the rout complete — too shocking to think of — and a surprise in 
the bargain 1" 



Washington's home .\nd household. 419 

The first interview of the j^resident with St. Clair, after 
the fiital fourth of November, was nobly impressive. 
The unfortunate general, worn down by age, disease, 
and the hardshijDS of a frontier campaign, assailed by the 
press, and with the current of popular opinion setting 
hard against him, repaired to his chief, as to a shelter 
from the fury of so many elements. Washington ex- 
tended his hand to one who appeared in no new charac- 
ter; for, during the whole of a long life, misfortune 
seemed " to have marked him for her own." Poor old 

" He uttered all this with great vehemence. Then he paused, got up from the 
sofa and walked about the room several times, agitated, but saying nothing. Near 
the door he stopped short and stood still a few seconds, when his wrath became ter- 
rible. 

" ' Yes,' " he burst forth, " ' here, on this very spot, I took leave of him ; I 
wished him success and honor; you have your instructions, I said, from the secre- 
tary of war ; I had a strict eye to them, and will add but one word — beware of a 
surprise. I repeat it, beware of a surprise — you know how the Indians fight us. 
He went off with that as my last solemn warning thrown into his ears. And yet, to 
suffer that army to be cut to pieces, hacked by a surprise — the very thing I guarded 
him against! God, O God, he's worse than a murderer ! How can he answer 
it to his country ? — the blood of the slain is upon him — the curse of widows and 
orphans — the curse of Heaven !' 

" This torrent came out in tone appalling. His very frame shook. It was awful, 
said Mr. Lear. More than once he threw his hands up as he hurled imprecations 
upon St. Clair. Mr. Lear remained speechless ; awed into breathless silence. 

" The roused chief sat down on the sofa once more. He seemed conscious of his 
passion, and uncomfortable. He was silent. His wrath began to subside ; he at 
length said, in an altered voice, ' This must not go beyond this room.' Anothei* 
pause followed — a longer one — when he said, in a tone quite low, ' General St. 
Clair shall have justice. I looked hastily through the despatches, saw the whole 
disaster, but not all the particulars ; I will hear him without prejudice ; he shall 
have full justice.' 

" He was now, said Mr. Lear, perfectly calm. Half an hour had gone by. The 
storm was over ; and no sign of it was afterwards seen in his conduct, or heard in 
his conversation. The result is known. The whole case was investigated by Con- 
gress. St. Clair was exculpated and regained the confidence Washington had in 
him when appointing him to that command. He had put himself into the thickest 
of the fight and escaped unhurt, though so ill as to be carried on a litter, and unable 
<0 mount his horse without help." 



420 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

St. Clair hobbled up to his chief, seized the offered hand 
in both of his, and gave vent to his feelings in an audible 
manner * He was subsequently tried by a commission 
of government, and proved to have been unforhincUe. 

"We have mentioned Sam. Fraunces, the president's 
steward. He was a rare whig in the Revolutionary day, 
and attached no little importance to his person and char- 
acter, from the circumstance that the memorable parting 
of the commander-in-chief with his old and long endeared 
companions-in-arms had taken place at his tavern in I 
New York.f 

The steward was a man of talent and considerable 
taste in the line of his profession, but was at the same 
time ambitious, fond of display, and regardless of expense. 
This produced continued difficulties between the pres- 
ident and certainly one of the most devotedly attached 
to him of all his household. 

The expenses of the presidential mansion were settled i 
weekly ; and, upon the bills being presented, the presi- ■ 

* Mr. Custis informed me that he happened to be present at the beginning of that 
interview. He was then between the tenth and eleventh year of his age, and it made 
an iippression on his mind. 

t When the British had evacuated New York, in November, 1783, and the Amer- 
ican army was disbanded, Washington prepared to proceed to Annapolis to resign 
his commission. Ou Thursday, the fourth of December, the principal officers iu 
the army yet remaining in the service, assembled at Fraunces', to take a final leave 
of their beloved chief. The scene is described as one of great tenderness. Wash- 
ington entered the room where they were all waiting, and taking a glass of wine in 
his hand, he said, " With a heart full of love and gratitude, I now take leave of you. 
I most devoutly wish that your latter days may be as prosperous and happy as your 
former ones have been glorious and honorable." Having drank, he continued, " I 
can not come to each of you to take my leave, but shall be obliged to you if each 
will come and take me by the hand." Knox, who stood nearest to him, turned and 
grasped his hand, and, while the tears flowed down the cheeks of each, the com- 
mander-in-chief kissed him. This ho did to each of his officers, while tears and 8o'»s 
stifled utterance. 



Washington's home and household. 421 

dent would rate his steward soundly upon his expensive- 
ness, saying that, while he wished to live conformably 
to his high station, liberally, nay handsomely, he abhor- 
red waste and extravagance, and insisted that his house- 
hold should be conducted with due regard to economy 
and usefulness. 

Fraunces would promise amendment, and the next 
week the same scene would be re-enacted in all its parts, 
the steward retiring in tears, and exclaiming, " Well, he 
may discharge me ; he may kill me if he will ; but while 
he is president of the United States, and I have the 
honor to be his steward, his establishment shall be sup- 
plied with the very best of everything that the whole 
country can afford." 

Washington was remarkably fond of fish. It was the 
habit for New England ladies frequently to prepare the 
codfish in a very nice manner, and send it enveloped in 
cloths, so as to arrive quite warm for the president's 
Saturday dinner, he always eating codfish on that day in 
compliment to his New England recollections. 

It happened that a single shad was caught in the Dela- 
ware in February, and brought to the Philadelphia mar- 
ket for sale. Fraunces pounced upon it with the speed 
of an osprey, regardless of price, but charmed that he 
had secured a delicacy that, above all others, he knew 
would be agreeable to the plate of his chief 

When the fish was served, Washington suspected a 
departure from his orders touching the provision to be 
made for his table, and said to Fraunces, who stood at 
his post at the sideboard, " What fish is this ?" — " A shad, 
a very fine shad," was the reply ; " I knew your excel- 
lency was particularly fond of this kind of fish, and was 



422 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON, 

SO fortunate as to procure this one in market — a solitary 
one, and the first of the season." — " The price, sir ; the 
price !" continued Washington, in a stern commanding 
tone ; " the price, sir ?" — " Three — three — three dollars," 
stammered out the conscience-stricken steward. " Take 
it a^Yay" thundered the chief; " take it away, sir ; it 
shall never be said that my table sets srtch an example 
of luxury and extravagance." Poor Fraunces tremblingly 
obeyed, and the first shad of the season was removed 
untouched, to be speedily discussed by the gourniands 
of the servants' hall. 

The chief cook w^ould have been termed in modern 
parlance, a celebrated artiste. He was named Hercules, 
and familiarly termed Uncle Harkless. Trained in the 
mysteries of his part from early youth, and in the palni}^ 
days of Virginia, when her thousand chimneys smoked 
to indicate the generous hospitality that reigned through- 
out the whole length and breadth of her wide domain, 
Uncle Harkless was, nt the period of the first presidency, 
a-s highly accomplished a proficient in the culinary art as 
could be found in the United States. He was a dark- 
brown man, little, if any, above the usual size, yet pos- 
sessed of such great muscular power as to entitle him to 
be compared with his namesake of fabulous history. 

The chief cook gloried in the cleanliness and nicety of 
his kitchen. Under his iron discipline, wo to his under- 
lings if speck or spot could be discovered on the tables 
or dressers, or if the utensils did not shine like polished 
silver With the luckless wights who had ofiended in 
these particulars there was no arrest of punishment, for 
judgment and execution went hand in hand. 

The steward, and indeed the whole household, treated 



Washington's home and household. 423 

the clilef cook with much respect, as well for his valua- 
ble services as for his general good character and pleas- 
ing manners. 

It was while preparing the Thursday or Congress din- 
ner that Uncle Harkless shone in all his splendor. Dur- 
ing his labors upon this banquet he required some half- 
dozen aprons, and napkins out of number. It was sur- 
prising the order and discipline that was observed in so 
bustling a scene. His underlings flew in all directions 
to execute his orders, while he, the great master-spirit, 
seemed to possess the power of ubiquity, and to be every- 
where at the same moment. 

When the steward in snow-white apron, silk shorts and 
stockings, and hair in full powder, placed the first dish 
on the table, the clock being on the stroke of four, " the 
labors of Hercules" ceased. 

While the masters of the republic were engaged in dis- 
cussing the savory viands of the Congress dinner, the 
chief cook retired to make his toilet for an evening 
promenade. His perquisites from the slops of the kitchen 
were from one to two hundred dollars a year. Though 
homely in person, he lavished the most of these large 
avails upon dress. In making his toilet his linen was of 
unexceptionable whiteness and quality, then black silk 
shorts, ditto waistcoat, ditto stockings, shoes highly pol- 
•ished, with large buckles covering a considerable part of 
the foot, blue cloth coat with velvet collar and bright 
metal buttons, a long watch-chain dangling from his fob, 
a cocked-hat, and gold-headed cane completed the grand 
costume of the celebrated dandy (for there were dandies 
in those days) of the president's kitchen. 

Thus arrayed, the chief cook invariably passed out at 



424 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHL^GTON. 

the front door, the porter making a low bow, which was 
promptly returned. Joining his brother-loungers of the 
pave, he proceeded up Market street, attracting consider- 
able attention, that street being, in the old times, the 
resort where fashionables " did most congregate." Many 
were not a little surprised on beholding so extraordinary 
a personage, while others who knew him would make a 
formal and respectful bow, that they might receive in 
return the salute of one of the most polished gentlemen 
and the veriest dandy of nearly sixty years ago. 

The coachman, John Fagan, by birth a Hessian, was 
tall and burly in person, and an accomplished coachman 
in every respect. He understood the mechanism of a 
carriage, and could take to pieces and put together again 
all the parts, should he meet with any accident on his 
road. He drove for the president throughout his whole 
tour of the then southern states, from Mount Yernon to 
Savannah, and by Augusta and the interior of South and 
North Carolina, in the white chariot built by Clarke, of 
Philadelphia, without the slightest accident or misfortime 
happening in so long a journey.* 

On the president's return Clarke was in attendance to 
learn the success of what he deemed his master-piece of 
coach-making. No sooner had the horses stopped at the 
door of the presidential mansion than the anxious coach- 
maker was under the body of the white chariot, examin- 
ing everything with a careful and critical eye, till Fagan 
shouted from the box, " All right, Mr. Clarke ; all right, 

* Washington visited the southern states in the spring of 1791. He set out from 
Mount Vernon early in April, and was absent three months, during which time he 
performed a journey of about nineteen hundred miles, with the same span ofliorses. 
He followed the seaboard as nearly as possible to Savannah, visited Augusta, 
and returned by way of the interior of the Carolinas and Virginia. 



Washington's home and household. 425 

sir ; not a bolt or screw started in a long journey and 
over the devil's own roads." The delighted mechanic 
now found his hand grasped in that of the president, who 
complimented him upon his workmanship, assuring him 
that it been sufficiently tested in a great variety of very 
bad roads. Clarke, the happiest of men, repaired to his 
shop, in Sixth street, where he informed his people of the 
success of the white chariot, the account of which he had 
received from the president's own lips, when the day 
ended in a jollification at the coachmaker's. 

John Kruse succeeded Fagan. He was a steady, es- 
timable man, and having been bred in the Austrian 
cavalry, was perfectly conversant with horses. He was 
an excessive smoker, his meerschaum never being out of 
his mouth, except at meals or on the coach-box. 

The stables consisted of ten coach and saddle horses, 
and the two white chargers, a coachman and two grooms. 
Of the chargers the one usually rode by the chief was 
named Prescoit. He was a fine parade horse, purely white, 
and sixteen hands high. He was indifferent to the fire 
of artillery, the waving of banners, and the clang of mar- 
tial instruments, but had a very bad habit of dancing 
about on the approach of a carriage, a habit very annoy- 
ing to his rider, who although a master in horsemanship, 
preferred to ride as quietly as possible, especially when, 
during his Saturday's ride, he would meet with carriages 
containing ladies, it being customary with them to order 
their coachman to stop and let down their glasses, that 
the president might approach to pay his compliments. 

The other charger was named Jackson, from the circum- 
stance of his having run away with Major Jackson, aid-de- 
camp to the president, when coming into Princeton, en 



426 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

route from New York to Pliiladelphia, in 1790, to the sad 
discomfiture of the major, and the no little amusement 
of the chief and the brilliant coriege of gallant cavaliers 
with which he was attended. Jackson was a superb an- 
imal, purely white, with flowing main and tail. He was 
of a fierce and fiery temperament, and, when mounted, 
moved with mouth open, champing the bit,. his nostrils 
distended, and his Arab eye flashing fire. Washington, 
disliking a fretful horse, rarely rode this fine- but impet- 1 
uous animal, while Kruse, whose duty it was to accom- 
pany the president when on horseback, had had diverse ' 
combats with the fiery charger, in several of which, it t \ 
was Said the old Austrian dragoon came ofi" rather second 
best. When putting on the housings and caparison for the 
chief to ride Jackson, Kruse would say, " Ah, ha, my fine 
fellow, you'll have your match to-day, and I know you'll 
take care to behave yourself" In fact, the noble horse 
had felt the power of Washington's stalwart arm, a power 
that could throw a horse upon his haunches in a single 
moment, and the sagacious animal quailed before a force 
not easily resisted nor soon forgotten. 

Among the coach-horses were a pair of beautiful blood 
bays, bred at Mount Vernon from the celebrated stallion 
Magnolia. These thorough-breds were the pets of the 
stables, and always drew the coach when Mrs. Washing- 
ton paid her visits in Philadelphia. One day, but for the 
courage and presence of mind of a servant, a serious 
catastrophe would have occurred. Mrs. Washington and 
hor grand-daughter'= were just seated in the coach, and 
James Hurley (a native of Ireland) was putting up the 
step, when, the day being warm, and the flies trouble- 

* Eleanor Paikc Custis. 



Washington's home and household. 427 

sonie, one of the horses rubbed off his bridle. The coach- 
man, of course, sat powerless on his box. The affrighted 
animal at first stared wildly about him, and was in the 
act of springing forward, w4ien Hurley, perceiving the 
imminent danger, with a presence of mind equalled by 
his courage, grappled the animal around the neck, and 
amid his furious and maddening plunges clung to him, 
and so encumbered him with the weight of a heavy man 
that the passengers in the street were enabled to come to 
the rescue, when the bridle was replaced, and the car- 
riage drove off 

The president was much gratified when inspecting his 
stables at Philadelphia. They were large and roomy, 
and everything in and about them in the most perfect 
order ; the grooming of the horses superb, such as the 
moderns can have no idea of* 

Washington, as we have elsewhere observed, was the 
most punctual of men. To this admirable quality, and 
the one equally admirable of rising at four o'clock and 
retiring to rest at nine at all seasons, this great man 
owed his being able to accomplish mighty labors during 
a long and illustrious life. He was punctual in every- 
thing, and made every one punctual about him. 

During his memorable journey through the southern 
! portion of the union, he had, before setting off, arranged 
I all the stages for the whole route ; the ferries, the inns, 
! the hour of arriving at and departing from each, were all 
I duly calculated, and punctually did the white chariot 
I arrive at all its appointments, except when prevented by 
. high waters or excessively bad roads.-j* 

) * See note on page 397. 

t Thinking that the public service might require communications to be made to 



428 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

His punctuality on that long journey astonished every 
one. The trumpet call of the cavalry had scarcely ceased 
its echoes when a vidette would be seen coming in at 
full speed, and the cry resound far and wide, " He 's com- 
ing!" Scarcely would the artillery-men unlimber the 
cannon, when the ord^r would be given, "Light your 
matches, the white chariot is in full view !" 

Revolutionary veterans, hurried from all directions 
once more to greet their beloved chief They called it 
marching to headquarters ; and as the dear glorious old 
fellows would overtake their neighbors and friends, they 
would say, " Push on, my boys, if you wish to see him ; 
for we, who ought to know, can assure you that he is 
never behind time, but always punctual to the moment." 

It was thus that Washington performed his memorable 
tour of the United States — everywhere received with 
heartfelt homage that the love, veneration, and gratitude 
of a whole people could bestow ; and there is no doubt 
yet living a gray head who can tell of the time when he 
gallantly rode to some village or inn on the long-remem- 
bered route to hail the arrival of the white chariot, and 
join in the joyous welcome to the Father of his Country. 

And equally punctual in his engagements was this re- 
markable man nearer home. To the review, the theatre, 
or the ball-room he repaired precisely at the appointed 

him during his absence, Washington wrote a letter to the head of each department, 
in which he designated the places that he should be at on certain days. " I shnll 
be," he said, " on the eighth of April at Fredericksburg ; the eleventh, at Richmond ; 
the fourteenth, at Petersburgh ; the sixteenth, at Halifax ; the eighteenth, at Tar- 
borough ; the twentieth, at Newtown ; the twenty-fourth, at Wilmington ; the 
twenty-ninth, at Georgetown, South Carolina ; on the second of May, at Cliarieston, 
halting there five days ; on the eleventh, at Savannah, halting there two days. Thence 
leaving the line of march, I shall proceed to Augusta; and, according to the infor- 
mation which I may receive there, my return by an upper road will be regulated." 



Washington's home and household. 429 

time. The manager of the theatre, waiting on the pres- 
ident to request him to command a play, was asked, " At 
what time, Mr. Wignell, does your curtain rise ?" The 
manager replied, " Seven o'clock is the hour, but of course 
the curtain will not rise till your excellency's arrival." 
The president observed, " I will be punctual, sir, to the 
time ; nobody waits a single moment for me." And, sure 
enough, precisely at seven, the noble form of Washing- 
ton was seen to enter the stage box, amid the acclama- 
tions of the audience and the music of the President's 
March. 

In the domestic arrangement of the presidential man- 
sion, the private dinner was served at three o'clock, the 
public one at four. The drawing-room commenced at 
seven, and ended at a little past ten. The levee began 
at three and ended at four. On the public occasions the 
company came within a very short time of each other, and 
departed in the same manner. " The president is punc- 
tual," said everybody, and everybody became punctual. 

On the great national days of the fourth of July and 
twenty-second of February, the salute from the then 
head of Market street (Eighth street) announced the open- 
ing of the levee. Then was seen the venerable corps of 
the Cincinnati marching to pay their respects to their 
president-general, who received them at headquarters, 
and in the uniform of the commander-in-chief This 
veteran band of the Revolution had learned punctuality 
from their general in the " times that tried men's souls ;" 
for no sooner had the thunder-peals of Colonel Proctor's 
twelve-pounders caused the windows to rattle in Market 
street than this venerable body of the Cincinnati were 
I in full march for the headquarters. And as soon as the 



i 



430 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHLXGTON. 

first gun would be heard, a venerable citizen was seen to 
leave his office, and moving at a more than usual pace, 
ascend the steps of the presidential mansion. He gave 
in no name — he required no ceremony of introduction — 
but, making his way to the family parlor, opened the 
general gratulation by the first welcome of Robert Morris. 
A fine volunteer corps, called the light-infantry, from 
the famed lightrinfantry of the Revolutionary army, com- 
manded by Lafayette, mounted a guard of honor at 
headquarters during the levee on the national days. 
When it was about to close, the soldiers, headed by their 
sergeants, marched with trailed arms and noiseless step 
through the hall to a spot where huge bowls of punc 
had been prepared for their refreshment, when, after 
quaffing a deep carouse, with three hearty cheers to the 
health of the president, they countermarched to the 
street, the bands struck up the favorite air, " forward " 
was the word, and the levee was ended.* 

* In the 3'car 1790, acoordinc; to the following skotrh, taken from an old num- 
ber of the London New ^[onthly 3Iagazine, an appreciatinp; Enjr^lish {gentleman visited 
the president. The sketch has been attributed to the pen of Hazlitt: " I remember 
my father tellinir me he was introduced to Washington, in 1790, by an American 
friend. A servant, well-lookin{» and well-dressed, received the visitants at tlie door, 
and by him the)' were delivered over to an officer of the United States' service, who 
ushered them into the drawin<;-room, in which Mrs. Washington and several ladies 
were seated. There was nothing remarkable in the person of the lady of the pres- 
ident; she was matronly and kind, with perfect good-breeding, she at once entered 
into easy conversation, asked how long ho had been in America, how he liked the 
country, and such other familiar, but general questions. In a few minutes the gen- 
eral wa.s in the room ; it was not necessary to announce his name, for his peculiar 
appearance, his firm forehead, Roman nose, and a projection of the lower jaw, his 
height and figure, could not be mistaken by any one who had seen a full-length pic- 
ture of liim, and yet no picture accurately resembled him in the minute traits of hi?i 
person. His features, however, were so marked by prominent characteristics, whirl) 
appear in all likenesses of him that a stranger could not be mistaken in the man ; lie 
was remarkably dignified In his manners, and had an air of benignity over his features 
which his visitant did not expect, being rather prepared for sternness of co""*enancc. 



Washington's home and household. 431 

" Old times are clianged, old manners gone." True, 
we have become a mighty empire in extent, wealth, and 

" After an introduction by Mrs. Washington, without more form than common 
good manners prescribes, ' he requested m'^,' said my father, ' to be seated ; and, 
talcing a chair himself, entered at once into conversation. His manner was full of 
affability. He asked how I liked the country, the city of New York : talked of the 
infant institutions of America, and the advantages she offered, by her intercourse, 
for benefitting other nations. He was grave in manner, but perfectly easy. His 
dress was of purple satin. There was a commanding air in his appearance which 
excited respect, and forbade too great a freedom towards him, independently of that 
species of awe which is- always felt in the moral influence of a great character. In 
every movement, too, there was a polite gracefulness equal to any met with in the 
most polished individuals in Europe, and his smile was extraordinarily attractive. 
It was observed to me that there was an expression in Washington's face that no 
painter had succeeded in taking. It struck me no man could be better formed for 
command. A stature of six feet, a robust, but well-proportioned frame, calculated 
to sustain fatigue, without that heaviness which generally attends great muscular 
strength, and abates active exertion, displayed bodily power of no mean standard. 
A light eye and full — the very eye of genius and reflection, rather than of blind pas- 
sionate impulse. His nose appeared thick, and though it befitted his other features, 
was too coarsely and strongly formed to be the handsomest of its class. His mouth 
was like no other that lever saw; the lips firm, and the under-jaw seeming to grasp 
the upper with force, as if its muscles were in full action when he sat still. Neither 
with the general nor with Mrs. Washington was there the slightest restraint of cere- 
mony. There was less of it than I ever recollect to have met with, where perfect 
good-breeding and manners were at the same time observed. To many remarks 
Washington assented with a smile or inclination of the head, as if he were by nature 
sparing in his conversation, and I am inclined to think this was the case. An allu- 
sion was made to a serious fit of illness he had recently suflPered ; but he took no 
notice of it. I could not help remarking, that America must have looked with 
anxiety to the termination of his indisposition. He made no reply to my compli- 
ment but by an inclination of the head. His bow at my taking leave I shall never 
forget. It was the last movement which I saw that illustrious character make, as 
my ej'es took their leave of him for ever, and it hangs a perfect picture upon my 
j recollection. The house of Washing' on was in the Broadway, and the street front 
I was handsome. The drawing-room in which I sat was lofty and spacious ; but the 
I furniture was not beyond that found in dwellings of opulent Americans in general, 
and might be called plain for its situation. The upper end of the room had glass 
doors, which opened upon a balcony, commanding an extensive view of the Hudson 
I river, interspersed with islands, and the Jersey shore on the opposite side. Agrand- 
I son and daughter resided constantly in the house with the general, and a nephew of 
. the general's, married to a niece of Mrs. Washington, resided at Mount "Vernon, the 
I general's family-seat in Virginia ; his residence, as president, keeping him at the 



I' 



432 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

population ; but where, Americans, is the spirit of '7G," 
the glorious and immortal spirit that dignified and ad- 
orned the early days of the republic and the age of 
Washington ? Shall it decline and die among us ? Swear 
on the altar of your liberty that it shall hve for ever ! 

seat of government.' The levees held by Washington, as president, were generally I 
crowded, and held on Tuesday, between three and four o'clock. The president ' 
stood, and received the bow of the person presented, who retired to make way for 
another. At the drawing-room, Mrs. Washington received the ladies, who courtesied, 
and passed aside without exchanging a word. Tea and coffee, with refreshments 
of all kinds, were laid in one part of the rooms, and before the individuals of the 
company retired, each lady was a second time led up to the lady-president, made 
her second silent obeisance, and departed. Nothing could be more simple, yet it 

was enough." ; 

1 



1 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 43'^ 



CHAPTER XXII. 

THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 

Washington Ebtikes from this Presidency — Inauguration of Mb. Adams — Arrangement 
OF Washington's Lbttbrs AND Papers — Albert Eawlins employed to Copy Letters — 
Publication of Private Memoirs op Washington Postponed — Character of some of 
THE Letters copied — The Old Family Vault — Site for a New One selected by Wash- 
ington — Disposition of Washington's Remains — The Desires of the Government — 
Mrs. Washington's Wish — Washington's Improvement of his Farms — A Portrait of 
the Farmer at Mount Vernon — His Daily Rides — Honors and Compliments — Frbnok 
Emigrants at Mount Vernon — G. W. Lafayette — Repairs of the Mansion — Sib Johk 
Sinclair — Marriage at Mount Vernon in 1799 — Billy — Washington's Last Visits to 
Alexandria — He Dines there — His Last Review — Evenings at Mount Veknon — 
Washington no longer a Sportsman — Father Jack — Tom Davis — Reflections. 

On the fourth of March, 1797, Washington, as a pri- 
vate citizen, attended the dignified ceremonials of the 
inauguration of his successor, John Adams f and during 

* On that occasion, there was a dense crowd in the house of representatives to wit- 
ness the ceremony of the inauguration of a new president. The Congress, during 
the residence of the federal government in Philadelphia, held their sessions in the 
courthouse, on the comer of Sixth and Chestnut streets ; and the hall of the repre- 
sentatives is thus described by a cotemporary writer : " The house of representatives, 
in session, occupied the ground floor. There was a platform elevated three steps, 
plainly carpeted, and covering nearly the whole of the area, with a limited prome- 
nade for the members and privileged persons ; and four narrow desks between the 
Sixth-street windows, for the stenographers, Lloyd, Gales, Callender, and Duane. 
The speaker's chair, without canopy, was of plain leather and brass nails, facing the 
east, at or near the centre of the western wall." 

At the appointed hour, Washington entered the hall amidst the most enthusiastic 
cheers, and was soon followed by Mr. Adams, the president elect, who was about to 
take the oath of office. When they were seated, perfect silence prevailed, Wash- 
ington then arose, and with great dignity introduced Mr. Adams to the audience, 
and proceeded to read, in a firm clear voice, a brief valedictory ; not the great " Fare- 
well Address," for that was published six months before. 

28 



f 



4di RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

the preparations for his departure from the seat of gov- 
ernment, the ex-president enjoyed an interchange of 

Mrs. Susan R. Echard, a daughter of Colonel Read, now (1859) living in Phil- 
adelphia, at the age of eighty-three years, was present on this interesting occasion, 
and in a letter to a kinsman, given below, has described the scene. It may be in- 
teresting to know that the memory of ^Ir. Rembrandt Peale, who, two years before, 
had painted Washington's portrait, from life, and who was also present in the gal- 
lery on that occasion, fully agrees with that of Mrs. Echard. 

Mrs. Echard remarks : " When General Washington delivered his ' Farewell 
Address,' in the room at the southeast corner of Chestnut and Sixth streets, I sat 
immediately in front of him. It was in the room Congress occupied. The table of 1 
the speaker was between the t\v\j windows on Sixth street. The daughter of Dr. C, 
[Craik] of Alexandria, the physician and intimate friend of Washington, Mrs. H., 
[Harrison] whose husband was the auditor, was a very dear friend of mine. Her 
brother Washington was one of the secretaries of General Washington. Young 
Dandridge, a nephew of Mrs. Washington, was the other. I was included in Mrs. ' 
H.'s party, to witness the august, the solemn scene. Mr. H. declined going with 
Mrs. H., as she had determined to go early, so as to secure the front bench. It was 
fortunate for Miss C, [Custis] (afterwards Mrs. L.) [Lewis] that she could not trust 
herself to be so near her honored grandfather. My dear father stood very near her. 
She was terribly agitated. There was a narrow passage from the door of entrance 
to the room, which was on the east, dividing the rows of benches. General Wash- 
ington stopped at the end to let Mr. Adams pass to the chair. The latter always 
wore a full 3uit of bright drab, with lash or loose cuffs to his coat. He always wore 
wrist ruffles. He had not changed his fashions. Ke was a short man, with a good 
head. With his family he attended our church twice a day. General Washington's 
dress was a full suit of black. His military hat had the black cockade. There 
stood the ' Father of his Country,' acknowledged by nations — the first in war, first 
in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen. No marshals with gold-colored 
scarfs attended him — there was no cheering — no noise; the most profound silence 
greeted him, as if the great assembly desired to hear him breathe, and catch his 
breath in homage of their hearts. Mr. Adams covered his face with both his hands ; 
the sleeves of his coat, and his hands, were covered with tears. Every now and 
then there was a suppressed sob. I can not describe Washington's appearance as I 
felt it — perfectly composed and self-possessed, till the close of his address : Then, 
when strong nervous sobs broke loose, when tears covered the faces, then the great 
man was shaken. I never took my eyes from his face. Large drops came from his 
eyes. Ho looked to the youthful children who were parting with their father, their 
friend, as if liis heart was with them, and would be to the end." 

In this connection, some reminiscences of Washington, and the Congress at Phil- 
adelphia, by the late Reverend Ashbel Greene, are specially interesting: "After a 
great deal of talking, and writing, and controversy, about the permanent seat of 
Congress, under the present constitution," says Mr. Greene, "it was determined 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 435 

tliat Philadelphia should be honored with its presence for ten years, and that after- 
wards its permanent location should be in the City of Washington where it now is. 
In the meantime, the federal city was in building, and the legislature of Pennsyl- 
vania voted a sum of money to build a house for the president, perhaps with somo 
hope that this might help to keep the seat of the general government in the capital — 
for Philadelphia was then considered as the capital of the state. What was lately 
the university of Pennsylvania, was the structure erected for this purpose. But as 
soon as General Washington saw its dimensions, and a good while before it was fin- 
ished, he let it be known that he would not occupy — that he should certainly not 
go to the expense of purchasing suitable furniture for such a dwelling; for it is to 
be understood, in those days of stern republicanism, nobody thought of Congress 
furnishing the president's house ; or, if perchance such a thought did enter into some 
aristocratic head, it was too unpopular to be uttered. 

"President Washington, therefore, rented a house of Mr. Robert Morris, in Mar- 
ket street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, on the south side, and furnished it hand- 
somely, but not gorgeously. There he lived, with Mrs. Washington ; Mr. Lear, his 
private secretary, and his wife, and Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, making a 
part of the family. Young Custis had a private tutor, employed by the president, 
who was engaged to attend on his pupil one hour in the winter mornings, before 
breakfast; and who, then, commonly breakfasted with the president and his family. 
The president ate Indian cakes for breakfast, after the Virginia fashion, although 
buckwheat cakes were generally on the table. Washington's dining parties were 
entertained in a very handsome style. His weekly dining day, for company, was 
Thursday, and his dining hour was always four o'clock in the afternoon. His rule 
was to allow five minutes for the variation of clocks and watches, and then go to the 
table, be present or absent, whoever might. He kept his own clock in the hall, just 
within the outward door, and always exactly regulated. When lagging members of 
Congress came in, as they often did, after the guests had sat down to dinner, the 
president's only apology was, ' Gentlemen (or sir), we arc too punctual for you. I 
have a cook who never asks whether the company has come, but whether the hour 
has come.' The company usually assembled in the drawing-room, about fifteen or 
twenty minutes before dinner, and the president spoke to every guest personally oa 
I entering the room. 

i" He was always dressed in a suit of black, his hair powdered, and tied in a black 
queue behind, with a very elegant dress-sword, which he wore with inimitable grace. 
. Mrs. Washington often, but not always, dined with the company, sat at the head of 
J the table, and if, as was occasionally the case, there were other ladies present, they 
y sat each side of her. The private secretary sat at the foot of the table, and was ex- 
,,' pected to be quietly attentive to all the guests. The president himself sat half-way 
< from the head to the foot of the table, and on that side he would place Mrs. Wash- 
I ington, though distant from him, on his right hand. He always, unless a clergy- 
' man was present at his own table, asked a blessing, in a standing posture. If a 
1 clergyman were present, he was requested both to ask a blessing and to return thanks 
(after dinner. The centre of the table contained five or six large silver or plated 
^waiters, those of the ends, circular, or rather oval on one side, so as to make the 



436 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

farewell visits with those in Philadelphia, whom he had 
known so long and loved so well * 

On Washington's resignation of the presidency, one of 
the first employments of his retirement as a private citi- 
zen was to arrange certain letters and papers for posthu- 
mous publication. With this view he wrote to General 
Spotswood, in Virginia, to select a young man of respect- 
able family, good moral habits, and superior clerkly skill, 
to copy into a large book certain letters and papers that 
would be prepared for such purpose. 

Kow, these letters and papers were by no means of an 
official character ; neither did they come within the range 
of recollections of the Revolution or of the constitutional 

arrangement correspond with the oval shape of the table. The waiters between the end* 
pieces were in the form of parallelograms, the ends about one-third part of the length 
of the sides ; and the whole of these waiters were filled with alabaster figures, taken 
from the ancient mythology, but none of them such as to offend, in the smallest de- 
gree, against delicacy. On the outside of the oval, formed by the waiters, were 
placed tiie various dishes, always without covers ; and outside the dishes were the 
plates. A small roll of bread, enclosed in a napkin, was laid by the side of each 
plate. The president, it is believed, generally dined on one dish, and that of a very 
simple kind. If offered something, either in the first or second course, which was 
very rich, his usual reply was — " That is too good for me." He had a silver pint 
cup or mug of beer, placed by his plate, which he drank while dining. He took one 
glass of wine during dinner, and commonly one after. He then retired (the ladies 
having gone a little before him), and left his secretary to superintend the table, till 
the wine-bibbers of Congress had satisfied themselves with drinking. His wines 
were alway the best that could be obtained. Nothing could exceed the order with 
which his table was served. Every servant knew what he was to do, and did it in 
the most quiet and yet rapid manner. The dishes and plates were removed and 
changed, with a silence and speed that seemed like enchantment." 

* On the day preceding the inauguration, Washington gave a kind of farewell 
dinner, to which the foreign ministers and their wives, Mr. and Mrs. Adams, Mr. 
Jefferson, and Mr. Morris, were invited. Bishop White, who was present, says, that 
when the cloth was removed, Wasliington filled his glass and said . " Ladies and gen- 
tlemen, this is the last time I shall drink your health as a public man ; I do it with 
sincerity, wishing you all possible happiness." Thtse words affected the oompiinf 
very much, and the wife of Mr. Linn, the British minister, wept so that the tears 
streamed down her cheeks. 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. ' 437 

government; they were more esjyecially private, and could 
with proprietor be termed Passages, Personal and Explatior 
tori/, in the Life and Correspondence of George Washington. 

General Spotswood selected a young man named 
Albin Rawlins, of a respectable family in the county of 
Caroline, and well qualified for the duties he was to per- 
form. He soon after arrived at Mount Yernon, and en- 
tered upon his employment. 

The letters were delivered to Rawlins by the chief in 
person, were carefully returned to him when copied, and 
others delivered out for copying. As the duties of the 
clerk lasted for a considerable time, very many of the 
most interesting and valuable letters that Washington 
ever wrote or received were copied into the Raiding 
Book. While we repeat that these letters were not of an 
official character, we must observe that they were writ- 
ten to and received from some the most illustrious pub- 
lic men who flourished in the age of Washington, and 
shed more light upon the true character of the men and 
things of that distinguished period than any letters or 
papers that ever were written and published. 

Washington postponed the arrangement for publica- 
tion of his private memoirs to the last ; all such matters 
lay dormant during the long and meritorious career of 
his public services. It was only when retired amid the 
shades of Mount Vernon that he thought of self, and de- 
termined in his latter days that nothing should be left 
undone to give to his country and the world a fair and 
just estimate of his life and actions.* 

* Applications were made to Washington, soon after the war, for materials for a 
biography of himself, but he discouraged every attempt to write an account of hia 
life, except as it came incidentally into the general history of the time in which he 
lived. He well knew that such a biography would be written at some time, and waa 



1 



438 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

A portion of the letters of the Rawlins' Book were of 
a delicate character, seeing that they involved the repu 
tation of the writers as consistent patriots and men of 
honor. These letters are no ivhere to he found. But, although 
the veil of mystery has been drawn over the lost letters 
of the Raivluis' Book that time or circumstance can never 
remove, our readers may rest assured that there is not a 
line, nay, a word, in the lost letters that Washington 
wrote, that, were he living, he would wish to revoke or 
blot out, but would readily, fearlessly submit to the peru- 
sal and decision of his countrymen and the world. 

During the agitation of the public mind that grew out 
of the subject of the lost letters more than fifty years 
ago * it was contended that the rumors were groundless ; 
that there were no such letters. Faithful to our purpose 
at the close of our labors, as the commencement of our 
humble work more than a quarter of a century ago, to 
give in these Recollections only of what we saw, and only 
of what we derived from the undoubted authority of 
others, we do not hesitate to declare, and from an au- 
thority that can not be questioned, that there were such 
letters as those described as the Lost Letters of the Rav)- 
Uns' Book. 

The ancient family vault having fallen into a state of 
decay, the chief surveyed and marked out a spot for a 
family burial-place during the last days at Mount Ver- 

anxious to have his papers so arranged, as to be easy for reference. Perceiving 
also, the great value of well-arranged public papers, Washington made a contract, 
by authority of Congress, in May, 1781, to have all of his oflBcial papers recorded ic 
volumes. He appointed Colonel Riclmrd Varrick to superintend that labor, and 
he, with three or four assistants, were engaged in the business two years and a half. 
* This chapter was first published in the National Intelligencer on the twenty- 
second of February, 1854. 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 439 

non* The new situation is peculiarly unfavorable and 
ill chosen, being a most unpleasant location for either 
the living or the dead. The executors, conceiving them- 
selves bound by the provisions of the will to erect a 
burial vault on the spot marked out, proceeded to do so 
to the best advantage ; but all their endeavors, together 
with the labors of skilful mechanics, have resulted in the 
tomb of Washington being universally condemned as 
unfit for and unworthy of the purpose for which it was 
intended, while it serves as a matter of reproach to the 
crowds of pilgrims who resort thither to pay homage to 
the fiime and memory of the Father of his Country.-|- 

It is certain that Washington never gave even a hint 
of his views or wishes in regard to the disposition of his 
remains, except what is contained in his wdll. He no 
doubt believed that his ashes would be claimed as national 
property, and be entombed with national honors ; hence 
his silence on a subject that has agitated the American 
public for more than half a century. On the decease of 

* The following is a clause in Washington's will : " The family vault at Mount 
Vernon requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides, I desire that a new- 
one of briok, and upon a larger scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly 
called the Vineyard Enclosure, on the ground which is marked out ; in which my 
remains, with those of my deceased relations (now in the old vault), and such others 
of my family as may choose to be entombed there, may be deposited. And it is my 
express desire, that my corpse may be interred in a private manner, without parade 
or funeral oration." 
I t Tlie new vault is about three hundred yards southwest from the mansion, at the 
I foot of a slope, and the head of a ravine that extends to the shore of the Potomac. 
' The front of the tomb has an ante-chamber, built of red brick, about twelve feet in 
1 height, with a large iron gateway. This was erected for the accommodation of two 
I marble coffins (one for Washington and the other for his wife), which stand within 
i the enclosure, in full view of the visiter. Over the gateway, upon a marble slab, 
1 are the words: "Within this enclosure rest the remains of General 
il George Washington." Over the vault door, inside, are the words. "I am 

|i THE RKSURRECTION AND THE LIFE; HE THAT BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE 
I WERE DEAD, XEt SHALL HE LIVE." 



440 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

the chief, the high authorities of the nation begged his 
remains for pubUc interment at the seat of the national 
government. They were granted by the venerable relict^ 
conditioned that her own remains should be interred by 
the side of her husband in the national tomb. This 
memorable compact, so solemn in itself, is still in full 
force and binding on the nation, inasmuch as no subse- 
quent authority could alter or annul it. 

On the faith of this compact. Colonel Monroe, when 
president of the United States, ordered two crypts or J 
vaults to be formed in the basement story of the centre 
of the capitol for the reception of the remains of the j 
chief and his consort, agreeably to the arrangement of I 
1799, which vaults are untenanted to this day. *| 

Surely it can not be denied that Mrs. Washington had 
the right, the only right, to the disposal of the remains 
of the chief, and by virtue of this right she granted them 
to the prayer of the nation as expressed by its highest 
authority. 

On her deathbed the venerable lady called the author 
of these Recollections, \iqv grandson and executor, to her side, 
and said, " Remember, Washington, to have my remains 
placed in a leaden cofhn, that they may be removed with 
those of the general at the command of the government."* 

* On the thirteenth of February, 1832, Mr. Thomas, of Louisiana, from the joint 
committee of the two houses, appointed to report on the subject of the Centennial 
anniversary of the birthday of George Washington, reported the following reso- 
lution : — 

" Resolved, bi/ the Senate arid House of Representatives of the United States of America, 
in Congress assembled, That the President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of 
Representatives be hereby authorized to make application to John A. Washinpton, 
of Mount Vernon, for the body of George Washington to he removed and depos- 
ited in the Capitol, at Washin;;ton City, in conformity with the resolutions of Con- 
gress of the twenty-third December, 1799; and that, if they obtain the requisite 
consent to the removal thereof, that they be further authorized to $ause it to b4 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 441 

And yet we hear of tlie right of a state ! No one state 
can appropriate to itself that which belongs to the whole. 

removed and deposited in the Capitol, on the twenty-second day of February, 1832." 
The following is a copy of the resolutions referred to : — 

"Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of Am er- 
ica in Congress assembled, That a marble monument be erected by the United States, 
in the Capitol, at. the City of Washington, and that the family of General Washing- 
ton be requested to permit his body to be deposited under it ; and that the monu- 
ment be so designed as to commemorate the great events of his military and political 
life. 

" And be it further resolved, That the President of the United States be requested 
to direct a copy of these resolutions to be transmitted to Mrs. Washington, assuring 
her of the profound respect Congress will ever bear to her person and character ; of 
their condolence on the late afflicting dispensation of Providence ; and entreating 
her assent to the interment of the remains of General George Washington in the 
manner expressed in the first resolution." 

In compliance with these resolutions. President Adams wrote a letter to Mrs. 
Washington on the subject, and received the following reply : — 

"Mount Vernon, December 31, 1799. 

" Sir : While I feel, with keenest anguish, the late dispensation of Divine Provi- 
dence, I can not be insensible to the mournful tributes of respect and veneration 
which are paid to the memory of my dear deceased husband ; and, as his best ser- 
vices and most anxious wishes were always devoted to the welfare and happiness 
of his country, to know that they were truly appreciated and gi-atefully remembered 
affords no inconsiderable consolation. 

" Taught by the great example which I have so long had before me, never to 
oppose my private wishes to the public will, I must consent to the request made by 
Congress, which you have had the goodness to transmit to me; and, in doing this, 
I need not, I can not, say what a sacrifice of individual feeling I make to a sense of 
public duty. 

" With grateful acknowledgments, and unfeigned thanks for the personal respect 
and evidences of condolence expressed by Congress and yourself, I remain, very 
respectfully, sir, your most obedient humble servant, 

"Martha Washington." 

President Adams transmitted her letter to Congress, accompanied by the follow- 
ing message : — 

" Gentlemen of the Senate, and Gentlemen of the House of Representatives : 
" In compliance with the request in one of the resolutions of Congress of the 
23d of December last, I transmitted a copy of those resolutions, by my secretary, 
Mr Shaw, to Mrs. Washington, assuring her of the profound respect Congress will 
ever bear to her person and character ; of their condolence in the late afflicting dis- 
pensation of Providence ; and entreating her assent to the interment of the remains 
of General Geoi'ge Washington in the manner expressed in the first resolution. As 



442 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Of the glorious Old Thirteen, little Delaware has as much 
right to the remains of the beloved Washington as eithei 

the sentiments of that virtuous liidy, not less belcvcd by this nation than she is at 
present fjrcatly afflicted, can never be so well expressed as in her own words, I 
transmit to Congress her original letter. 

" It would be an attempt of too much delicacy to make any comments upon it ; 
but there can be no doubt that the nation at large, as well as all the branches of the 
government, will be highly gratified by any arrangement which may diminish the 
sacrifices she makes of her individual feelings. John Adams. 

" United Stales, January 6. 1800." 

The resolutions appended to the report submitted by Mr. Thoma§, on the thir- 
teenth of February, 1832, elicited a warm debate. Some of the members from 
Virginia opposed the measure. Mr. McCoy declared that such removal would be 
a violation of the sepulchre of the dead; and Mr. Coke desired the removal of the 
precious remains to Richmond, the capital of Washington's native state. In reply 
to these, Edward Everett, of Massachusetts, remarked : — 

" But it is said, we are going to violate the repose of tlie dead ; to break into the 
sepulchre, and rifle it of its precious deposite. Sir, do wcdo any such thing ? Shall 
we not go to that venerated tomb with every possible warrant, both of authority and 
delicacy ? Was not the consent of the consort of the Father of his Country obtained, 
at a moment when her feelings were bleeding under the recent loss of the illustrious 
partner of her life 1 Fortified with her consent, deliberately given, and at that 
moment, who shall question the right or the propriety of the procedure? Violate 
the repose of the grave ! Sir, we are discharging toward that sacred depository a 
most imperative duty. If there is one darker spot in the history of this Union than 
another, it is that we have left so long unredeemed the solemn pledge, which was 
given by the people of America, through their representatives here, in the first 
moments of bereavement. Violate the repose of the dead ! Sir, we are going to pay 
a tribute of respect to the ashes of the Father of his Country, such as the history of 
the world can not match with a parallel. If this resolution is adopted, and on the 
22d of February the remains of our beloved hero and patriot shall be removed from 
Mount Vernon to this capitol, it will be a transaction of a character of extraordinary 
solemnity, grandeur, and interest. Such a procession as will be formed to receive 
these sacred remains — the multitudes of old and young — the constituted authorities 
of the nation, the citizens of this district, and of the neighboring region, who shall 
assemble to witness the awful spectacle of the remains of the Father of his Country, 
on tiieir way to their resting-place beneath the foundations of this capitol — all this, 
sir, will constitute a transaction unexampled in the history of the world for its effects 
on the minds and hearts of those who may take part in it or witness it. The gentle- 
man (Mr. Coke) was willing to open the sacred portals of that grave, and remove its 
deposite, not indeed to this cajjitol, but to Richmond. Now, sir, I cheerfully admit, 
that of the titles of Virginia to the respect and consideration of her sister states, it 
is among the first that she is the parent of our Washington. But let her not forget, 
that, though Washington was by birtii a native of the cohmy of Virginia, he lived 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 443 

♦ 

of her larger sisters ; for, though small in size, she was 
great in value in " the times that tried men's souls," and, 
in proportion to her resources, furnished as much courage, 
privation, and blood to the combats of liberty, as those 

and died a citizen of the United States of America ; united more by his labors, 
counsels, and sacrifices, than those of any other individual. The sacred remains 
are, as the gentleman well said, a treasure beyond all price, but it is a treasure of 
which every part of this blood-cemented Union has a right to claim its share. 

" The gentleman from Virginia (Mr. McCoy) asked, if we begin in this way, 
where shall we end ? Sir, I wish it might even become more difficult to answer 
that question. I wish it may even be hard to say, where shall we end with these 
testimonials of respect paid to a worth like that of Washington. Be it, sir, that we 
know not where we shall end. I know where we ought to begin, and that is, with 
the man who was ' first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his country- 
men.* Sir, I will begin with him. If, hereafter, another shall arise, who will live 
like Washington, when he dies, let him be laid by his side." 

The resolution was adopted, and measures were immediately taken to carry it 
into effect on the 22d of the same month, the one hundredth anniversary of the birth 
of Washington, when it was shown, by records, that it was the distinct understand- 
ing between Mrs. Washington and President Adams, that her remains should accom- 
pany those of her husband, wherever the latter might lie. This reservation caused 
the necessity of procuring the consent of other parties, and on the sixteenth of 
February, on motion of Mr. Clay, the senate proceeded to the consideration of the 
following joint resolution from the house : — 

" Resolved, by the Senate and House of Representatives, That the President of the 
Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives be hereby authorized to make 
application to John A. Washington, of Mount Vernon, and to George W. P. Custis, 
grandson of Mrs. Washington, for the remains of Martha Washington, to be 
removed and deposited in the Capitol at Washington City, at the same time with 
those of her late consort, George Washington, and if leave be obtamed, to take 
measures accordingly." 

This effort to have the remains of the illustrious citizen deposited beneath the 
Capitol failed, and they are yet within the area marked out for them by that great 
man while living, and where, among his kindred, according to the words of his Will, 
no doubt it was his desire that they should for ever repose.^ Now that Mount Vernon, 
through the efforts of patriotic women, has become the property of the nation, every 
American should rejoice that the remains of Washington have not been disturbed 
Biglit glad are we that they are left alone, 

" To sleep for ever, 

Pill the trump that awakens the countless dead, 
By the verdant bank of that rushing river. 
Where first they pillowed his mighty head." 



444 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

that were far larger than she. From Long Island to 
Eiitaw, from the first to the last of the War for Indepen- 
dence, her banner was ever in the field, and ever floated 
mid " the bravest of the brave." 

It is high time the subject of the remains, and the re- 
mains themselves, were at rest. Presuming that govern- 
ment should purchase Mount Vernon, and determine that 
the ashes of the chief should there find lasting repose, we 
would respectfully suggest that a sepulchre be erected on 
the site of the ancient family vault, a magnificent location, 
having an extensive view of the surrounding country and 
of the noble Potomac that washes its base ; the massive 
structure to be formed of white American marble, in 
blocks each of a ton weight, a dome of copper, surmounted 
by an eagle in bronze, a bronze door, and for inscription 
two words only that will speak volumes to all time — 
Pater Paincc. The key of the receptacle to be always 
in custody of the president of the United States for the 
time being. This done, and if done " 't were well it were 
done quickly," the Tomb of Washington would cease to 
be a reproach among nations. The pilgrim from distant 
lands, as he journey's through a mighty empire, with his 
heart filled with veneration of the fame and memory of 
America's illustrious son, when he arrives at the national 
Sepulchre, that casts its broad shadow over the Potomac's 
wave, will become awed by the solemn grandeur of the 
spot. The American of generations yet to come will 
behold, with filial reverence, the time-honored receptacle 
that contains the ashes of the Father of his Country; 
the enduring marble mellowed by age, and the inscrip- 
tion freshly preserved in never-dying bronze. Proud of 
such a monument erected by the piety of his ancestors, 







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THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. • 445 

the future American may exclaim, in tlie words of the 
immortal bard — 

" Such honors Ilion to her hero paid, 
And peaceful sleeps her mighty Hector's shade." 

Another object claimed the attention of the chief dur- 
ing the last days at Mount Vernon — the complete sur- 
vey and remodelling of his farms, with a view to their 
improvement. These surveys he made in person, the 
calculations and estimates drawn out by his own hand ; 
and, indeed, it was a rare spectacle to behold this vener- 
able man, -^ho had obtained the very topmost height of 
human greatness, carrying his own compass, the emblem 
of the employments of his early days * 

* Allusion has already been made, in a note on page 156, to a facsimile of a rec- 
ord of one of Washington's surveys, given in this volume. It was made in April, 
1799, the last year of his life; and the land surveyed is that which he gave, by his 
Will, to the author of these Recollections, situated "on Four-mile-Run, in the vicinity 
of Alexandria, containing one thousand two hundred acres, more or less." We 
have on several occasions observed how methodical and careful Washington was in 
all his business operations. His habit of committing every bargain, even the most 
trivial, to writing, is well exemplified by the following curious document, which is 
preserved among his papers. It appears that Philip Barter was in the habit of get- 
ting intoxicated too often, and hence the execution of the following bond : — 

"Articles of agreement made this twelfth day of April, Anno Domini one thou- 
sand seven hundred and eighty-seven, by and between George AVashington, Esq., of 
the parish of Truro, in the county of Fairfax, state of Virginia, on the one part, and 
Philip Barter, gardener, on the other. Witness, that the said Philip Barter, for and 
in consideration of the covenants hereafter mentioned, doth promise and agree to 
serve the said George Washington for the term of one year as a gardener, and that 
he will during the said time, conduct himself soberly, diligently, and honestly; that 
he will faithfully and industriously perform all and every part of his duty as a gar- 
dener, to the best of his knowledge and abilities, and that he will not at any time 
suffer himself to be disguised with liquor except on times hereinafter mentioned. 

" In consideration of these things being well and duly performed on the part of 
said Philip Barter, the said George Washington doth agree to allow him (the said 
Philip) the same kind and quality of provisions he has heretofore had, and likewise, 
annually, a decent suit of clothes, befitting a man in his station ; to consist of coat, 
Vst, and breeches ; a working-jacket and breeches of homespun, besides ; two white 



446 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The venerable master on returning to his home, found, 
indeed, many things to repair, with an ample field for 
improvement before him. With a body and mind alike 
sound and vigorous in their maturity, did he bend his 
energies to the task, while the appearance of everything 
gave proofs of the taste and energy in the improvements 
that marked the last days at Mount Vernon. 

Washington's rides on his extensive estates, would be 
from eight to twelve or fourteen miles ; he usually moved 
at a moderate pace, passing through his fields andin- 
specting everything ; but when behind time, the most 
punctual of men would display the horsemanship of his 
better days, and a hard gallop bring him up to time, so 
that the sound of his horse's hoofs and the first dinner- 
bell should be heard together at a quarter to three 
o'clock. 

Washington's correspondence with Sir John Sinclair,* 
and other eminent characters in Europe, gave a great 
deal of information touching the improvements in agri- 
shirts ; three check, do ; two linen overalls ; as many pairs of shoes as are necessary 
for him ; four dollars at Christmas, with which he may be drunk four days and four 
nights ; two dollars at Easter to effect the same purpose ; two dollars at Whitsuntide 
to be drunk for two days ; a dram in the morning, and a drink of grog at dinner at 
noon. 

"For the true and faithful performance of all and each part of these things, the 
parties have hereunto set their hands this twenty-third day of April, Anno Domini, 
1787. his 

"Philip Barter, X 

" Witness : mark. 

" George A. Washington, " George Washington. 

" Tobias Lear." 

♦ Sir John Sinclair was an eminent Scotch baronet, and much interested in the 
progress of the United States. In September, 1796, he wrote to Washington, mak- 
ing special and general inquiries respecting the soil and agriculture of the United 
States, to which Washington replied, in a lengthy and very able letter, in December 
following. A copy of that letter may be found in Sparks's Lijt and Writings oj 
Wushinyton, xii. 323. 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 44V 

culture and domestic economy in the Old World. This 
valuable information was carefully digested by the farmer 
of Mount Vernon, with a view to its adaptation to the 
climate and resources of the United States. Nothing that 
tended to public benefit was too vast to be undertaken 
by this man of mighty labors. The whole of his public 
as well as private career was marked by usefulness. His 
aim was good to his country and mankind, and to effect 
this desirable end, untiring were his energies and onward 
his course as a public benefactor. 

During the maritime war with France,* the armed 
merchantmen that sailed from Alexandria would salute 
on passing Mount Vernon. On the report of the first 
gun, the general would leave his library, and, taking a 
position in the portico that fronts the river, remain there 
uncovered till the firing ceased. 

And yet another salute awakened the echoes around 

the shores of Mount Vernon ; another act of homage was 

paid to the retired chief; and this was the homage of the 

heart, for it was paid by an old companion-in-arms, while 

its echoes called up the memories of the past. A small 

vessel would be seen to skim along the bosom of the 

j Potomac. Nearing the shore, the little craft furled her 

1 sails, let go her anchor, and discharged a small piece of 

I ordnance ; then a boat put off and pulled to the shore, 

I and soon a messenger appeared, bearing a fine rock or 

I 

I * Allusion has already been made to an expected war with France in the year 
I 1798. There was no actual declaration of war, yet hostilities between the two 
countries commenced on the ocean. The United States frigate Constellation, cap- 
tured the French frigate L' Insurgente, in February, 1799. That frigate had already 
captured the American schooner Retaliation. On the first of February, 1800, the 
Constellation had an action with the French frigate La Vengeance, but escaped cap- 
tare, after a loss of one hundred and sixty men in killed and wounded. 



448 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

drum fish, with the compliments of Benjamin Grymes, who 
resided some fifty miles down the river, and who was a 
gallant officer of the Life-Guard in the War of the Revo-] 
lution. 

Several of the most distinguished of the French emi- 
grants, some of them bringing letters from French offi- 
cers, who had served in the War for Independence, sought 
in vain to be received by the first president. Among 
these were the celebrated Talleyrand, the Due de Lian 
court, Louis Philippe, then Due d'Orleans, and his two! 
brothers, Montpensier and Bojolais. The first president 
adhered to his rule, that upon mature consideration he 
had laid down for his government during the wars and 
troubles of European nations, viz : Respect and comidera\ 
tion for our own affairs, tvith nomnterventton in the affairs of 
others. 

Louis Philippe and brothers visited the retired chief 
during the last days at Mount Yernon. The amiable Due 
de Liancourt bore his reverse of fortune with great mag- 
nanimity. He used to say : " In the days of my power 
and affluence, under the ancient regime of France, I kept 
fifty servants, and yet my coat was never as well brushed 
as it is now, when I brush it myself." 

George Washington Lafiiyette, and his tutor and friend 
M. Frestel, became members of the Mount Vernon family 
during the last days. These estimable Frenchmen, driven 
by persecution from their native country, found refuge 
in America. 

While reasons of state prevented Washington, as pres- 
ident, from receiving emigres, so soon as he became the 
private citizen he warmly, joyfully welcomed to his heart 
and his home the son of his old companion-in-arms, bid- 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 449 

ding young Lafayette to consider George Washington as 
a friend and father. The French gentlemen, from their 
superior intelligence, together with their highly-accom- 
plished and amiable manners, endeared themselves to all 
who knew them during their sojourn in the United 
States. They remained members of the family of Mount 
Vernon until a change in European affairs enabled them 
to embark for their native land.* 

Many articles, both for useful and ornamental pur- 
poses, were forwarded to Mount Vernon from Philadel- 
phia; and that the retired chief was in full employment 
upon his return to his ancient and beloved mansion, may 
be gathered from the following extract of a letter to the 
author of these RecoUections, dated April third, 1797 : '* We 
are all in the midst of litter and dirt, occasioned by 
joiners, masons, painters, and upholsterers, working in 
the house, all parts of which, as well as the out-buildings, 
are much out of repair." Mount Vernon, it is known, 
resembles a village, from there being some fourteen or 
fifteen buildino^s detached from each other: and beino" 
nearly all constructed of wood, it may well be supposed 
that decay had made considerable progress, more especi- 
ally when the master's absence during the War of the 

* Young Lafayette and M. Frestel, arrived at Boston, at the close of the sum- 
mer of 1795. General Lafayette was then an exile, and in prison in German}', 
having fled from his country during the storm of the French Revolution. His 
son came to America for refuge. He assumed the name of Motier, and resided for 
awhile in seclusion, with his tutor, near New York. When, in March, 1 797, Wash- 
ington retired from the presidency, and became a private citizen, he invited young 
Laftiyette to make Mount Vernon his home; and the young gentleman accompanied 
the illustrious friend of his father to that pleasant abode on the Potomac. General 
Lafayette having been restored to liberty and his family, his son, with M. Frestel, 
sailed for France, from New York, on the twenty-sixth of October, 1797. A por- 
trait of young Lafayette, while a resident at Mount Vernon, may be found in a 
■work entitled. Mount Vernon and its Associations, New York, 1859. 

29 



450 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Revolution and the first presidency amounted to sixteen 
years. 

An event occurred on the twenty-second of February, 
1799, that, while it created an unusual bustle in the an- 
cient halls, shed a bright gleam of sunshine on the last 
daj's at Mount Vernon.* It was the marriage of Major 
Lewis, a favorite nephew, with the adopted daughter of I 
the chief It was the wish of the young bride that the! 
general of the armies of the United States should appear! 
in the splendidly embroidered uniform (the costume as- 
signed him by the board of general officers) in honor of 
the bridal ; but alas, even the idea of wearing a costume! 
bedizzened with gold embroidery, had never entered the! 
mind of the chief, he being content with the old Conti-i 
nental blue and buff, while the magnificent white plumes 
presented to him by Major-General Pinckney he gave to 
the bride, preferring the old Continental cocked hat, with 
the plain black-ribbon cockade, a type of the brave old 
days of '76. 

Washington's great employment, and a constant stream 
of company, gave him but little time to go abroad ; still, 
he occasionally visited his old and long-remembered 
friends in Alexandria. He attended a martial exhibition, 
representing an invasion by the French, which ended in 
an old-fiishioned sham battle and the capture of the in- 
vaders. It was handsomely got np, Alexandria at that 
time possessing a numerous and well-appointed military , 
and the whole went off with great eclat. « 

Among many interesting relics of the past, to be found 
in the last days at Mount Vernon, was old Billy, the famed 
body-servant of the commander-in-chief during the whole 

* See page 44. 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 451 

of the War of the Kevohition. Of a stout athletic form, 
he had from an accident become a cripple, and, having 
lost the power of motion, took np the occupation of a 
shoemaker for sake of employment. Billy carefully recon- 
noitred the visiters as they arrived, and when a military 
title was announced, the old body-servant would send his 
compliments to the soldier, requesting an interview at his 
quarters. It was never denied, and Billy, after receiving 
a warm grasp of the hand, would say, " Ah, colonel, glad 
to see you ; we of the army don't see one another often 
in these peaceful times. Glad to see your honor looking 
so well ; remember you at headquarters. The new-time 
people don't know what we old soldiers did and suffered 
for the country in the old war. Was it not cold enough 
at Valley Forge ? Yes, was it ; and I am sure you re- 
member it was hot enough at Monmouth. Ah, colonel, 
I am a poor cripple ; can't ride now, so I make shoes and 
think of the old times ; the gineral often stops his horse 
here, to inquire if I want anything. I want for nothing, 
thank God, but the use of my limbs." 

These interviews were frequent, as many veteran of- 
_ ficers called to pay their respects to the retired chief, and 
all of them bestowed a token of remembrance upon the 
old body-servant of the Revolution.* 

It was in November of the last days that the general 
\ visited Alexandria upon business, and dined with a few 
I friends at the City hotel. Gadsby, the most accomplished 
I of hosts, requested the general's orders for dinner, pre- 

1 * See note on page 157. One of Washington's servants, named Gary, set free by 

*, his master's will, died in the Federal city, a few years ago, at the age of one hundred 

I and fourteen years. He used to appear at military parades, with an old military coat, 

I cooked hat, and huge cockade, presented to him by Washington. He was followed 

I to the grave by a large concourse of colored people. 



1l 



452 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

mising that there was good store of canvass-Lack ducks 
in the larder. " Very good, sir," replied the chief, " give 
us 'some of tliem^ with a chafing-dish, some hommony, and 
a bottle of good Madeira, and we shall not complain." 

No sooner was it known in town that the general would 
stay to dinner, than the cry was for the parade of a new 
company, called the Independent Blues, commanded by 
Captain Peircy, an officer of the Revolution. The mer- 
chant closed his books, the mechanic laid by his tools, the 
drum and fife went merrily round, and in the least po9-| 
sible time the Blues had Mien into their ranks, and wen 
in full march for the headquarters. 

Meantime the general had dined, and given his only 
toast of '''■All our Friends^' and finished his last glass of 
wine, when an officer of the Blues was introduced, who 
requested, in the name of Captain Peircy, that the com- 
mander-in-chief would do the Blues the honor to witness 
a parade of the corps. The general consented, and re- 
paired to the door of the hotel looking toward the public 
square, accompanied by Colonel Fitzgerald, Dr. Craik, Mr. 
Keith, Mr. Herbert, and several other gentlemen. The 
troops went through many evolutions with great spirit, 
and concluded by firing several volleys. When the parade 
was ended, the general ordered the author of these Recol- 
lections to go to Captain Peircy, and express to him the 
gratification which he, the general, experienced in the 
very correct and soldierly evolutions, marchings, and fir- 
ings of the Independent Blues. Such commendation, from 
such a source, it may well be supposed, was received with 
no small delight by the young soldiers, who marched off 
in fine spirits, and were soon afterward dismissed. Thus 



I 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 453 

ing the last military order issued in person by the Father 
of his Country. 

Washington ceased to be a sportsman after 1787, when 
he gave up the hunting estabhshment. True, he bred the 
blood horse, and a favorite colt of his, named Magnolia, 
was entered and ran for a purse ; but this was more to 
encourage the breeding of fine horses than from any 
attachment to the sports of the turf All the time that 
he could spare for active exercise in his latter days was 
devoted to riding about his farm, and inspecting his im- 
provements. In this he was ably assisted by several of 
his stewards and managers, who were Europeans, and who 
had brought from their own countries habits of industry 
and a knowledge of improved agriculture and rural af- 
fairs ; so that, had the Farmer of Mount Vernon been 
spared but a few years longer, his estate would have 
exhibited a series of model farms, examples to neighbor- 
ing improvers and to the country at large. 

Although much retired from the business world, the 

chief was by no means inattentive to the progress of 

public affairs. When the post-bag arrived, he would select 

the letters, and lay them by for perusal in the seclusion 

of his library. The journals he would peruse while taking 

his single cup of tea (his only supper), and would read 

aloud passages of peculiar interest, making remarks upon 

i the same. These evenings with his family always ended 

I precisely at nine o'clock, when Washington bade every 

j one good night, and retired to rest, to rise again at four, 

i and to renew the same routine of labor and enjoyment 

I that distinguished his last days at Mount Vernon. 

! Washington's last days, like those that preceded them 

j in the course of a long and a well-spent life, were devoted 



454 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

to constant and useful employment. After the active 
exercise of the morning, in attention to agriculture and 
rural affairs, in the evening came the post-bag, loaded 
with letters, papers, and pamphlets. His correspondence 
both at home and abroad was immense ; yet was it 
promptly and fully replied to. No letter was unanswered. 
One of the best-bred men of his time, Washington deemed 
it a grave offence against the rules of good manners and 
propriety to leave letters unanswered. He wrote with J 
great facility, and it would be a difficult matter to find 
another, who had written so much, who had written S0| 
well. His epistolary writings will descend to posterity," 
as models of good taste, as well as exhibiting superior' 
powers of mind. General Henry Lee once observed to 
the chief, " We are amazed, sir, at the vast amount of 
work that you accomplish." Washington replied, " Sir, I 
rise at four o'clock, and a great deal of my work is done 
while others are asleep." 

So punctual a man delighted in always having about _ 
him a good timekeeper. In Philadelphia, the first presi- | 
dent regularly walked up to his watchmaker's (Clarke, in 
Second street) to compare his watch with the regulator. 
At Mount Vernon the active yet always punctual farmer 
invariably consulted the dial when returning from his 
morning ride and before entering his house. 

The aflliirs of the household took order from the mas- 
ter's accurate and methodical arrangement of time. Even 
the fisherman on the river watched for the cook's signal 
when to pull in shore, so as to deliver his scaly products 
in time for dinner. 

The establishment of Mount Yernon employed a perfect 
army of servants ; yet to each one was assigned certain 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 455 

speciftl duties, and these were required to be strictly per- 
formed. Upon tlie extensive estate there was rigid dis- 
ciphne, without severity. There could be no confusion 
where all was order ; and the affairs of this vast concern, 
embracing thousands of acres and hundreds of dependants, 
were conducted with as much ease, method, and regular- 
ity, as the affairs of an ordinary homestead. 

Mrs. Washington, an accomplished Virginia housewife 
of the olden time, gave her constant attention to all mat- 
ters of her domestic household, and by her skill and sujdc- 
rior management greatly contributed to the comfortable 
rece^Dtion and entertainment of the crowds of guests 
always to be found in the hospitable mansion of Mount 
Vernon. 

Upon Washington's first retirement, in 1783, he became 
convinced of the defective nature of the working animals 
employed in the agriculture of the southern states, and 
set about remedying the evil by the introduction of mules 
instead of horses, the mule being found to live longer, be 
less liable to disease, require less food, and in every respect 
to be more serviceable and economical than the horse in 
the agricultural labor of the southern states. Up to 1783, 
scarcely any mules were to be found in the Union ; a few 
had been imported from the West Indies, but they were 
of diminutive size and of little value. So soon as the 
views on this subject of the illustrious farmer of Mount 
Vernon were known abroad, he received a present from 
the king of Spain of a jack and two jennies, selected from 
the royal stud at Madrid. The jack, called the Royal Gift, 
was sixteen hands high, of a gray color, heavily made, 
and of a sluggish disposition. At the same time, the Mar- 
quis de Lafayette sent out a jack and jennies from the 



456 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

island of Malta ; this jack, called the Knight of MaUa^ was 
a superb animal, black color, with the form of a stag and 
the ferocity of a. tiger. Washington availed himself of 
the best qualities of the two jacks by crossing the breeds, 
and hence obtained a favorite jack, called Compound^ 
which animal united the size and strength of the Gift with 
the high courage and activity of the Knight. The jacks 
arrived at Mount Vernon, if we mistake not, early in 1788. 
The general bred some very superior mules from his J 
coach mares, sending them from Philadelphia for the 
purpose. In a few years the estate of Mount Vernon 
became stocked with mules of a superior order, rising to i 
the height of sixteen hands, and of gxeat power and use- ' I 
fulness, one wagon team of four mules selling at the sale 
of the general's effects for eight hundred dollars. 

Mount Vernon, in the olden time, was celebrated for 
the luxuries of the table. The fields, the forest, and the 
river, each in their respective seasons, furnished the most 
abundant resources for good living. Among the pictur- 
esque objects on the Potomac to be seen from the eastern 
portion of the mansion-house, was the light canoe of Father 
Jack, the fisherman to the establishment. Father Jack was 
an African negro, an hundred years of age, and, althougli 
greatly enfeebled in body by such a vast weight of years, 
his mind possessed uncommon vigor. And he would tell 
of days long past, of Afric's clime, and of Afric's wars, in 
which he (of course the son of a king) was made captive, 
and of the terrible battle in which his royal sire was slain, 
the village consigned to the flames, and he to the slave- , 
ship. 

Father Jack possessed in an eminent degree the lead- 
ing quality of all his race — somnolency. By looking 



THE RETIRED PRESmENT. 457 

through a spy-glass, you would see the canoe fastened to 
a stake, with the old fisherman, bent nearly double, enjoy- 
ing a nap, which was only disturbed by the hard jerking 
of the white perch that became entangled by his hook. 

But the slumbers of Father Jack were occasionally 
attended by some inconvenience. The domestic duties 
at Mount Vernon were governed by clock time. Now, 
the cook required that the fish should be forthcoming at 
a certain period, so that they might be served smoking 
on the board precisely at three o'clock. He would repair 
to the river bank, and make the accustomed signals ; but, 
alas, there would be no response ; the old fisherman was 
seen quietly reposing in his canoe, rocked by the gentle 
undulations of the stream, and dreaming, no doubt, of 
events " long time ago." The unfortunate artiste of the 
culinary department, grown furious by delay, would now 
rush down to the water's edge, and, by dint of loud shout- 
uig, would cause the canoe to turn its prow to the shore. 
Father Jack, indignant at its being even supposed that 
he was asleep upon his post, would rate those present on 
his landing with, " What you all meek such a debil of a 
noise for, hey ; I wa'nt sleep, only noddin'." 

Poor Father Jack ! No more at early dawn will he be 
seen, as with withered arms he paddled his light canoe on 
the broad surface of the Potomac, to return with the finny 
spoils, and boast of famous fish taken "on his own hook." 
His canoe has long since rotted on the shore, his paddle 
hangs idly in his cabin, his " occupation 's gone," and Fa- 
ther Jack, the old fisherman of Mount Vernon, " sleeps the 
sleep that knows no waking." 

* A hunter, too, was attached to the household establish- 
ment. Tom Davis and his great Newfoundland dog. Gunner, 



i 



458 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

• 

were as important characters in the department for fur- 
nishing game and wild fowl as Father Jack in that of 
fish. So vast were the numbers of the canvas-back duck 
on the Potomac in the ancient time, that a single discharge 
of Tom Davis's old British musket would procure as many 
of those delicious birds as would supply the larder for a 
week. 

The year 1799 was in its last month. Washington had 
nearly completed his sixty-eighth year. The century was 
fast drawing to a close, and with it the great man's life. | 
Yet the winter of his age had shed its snows so kindly 
upon him as to mellow without impairing his faculties, 
either physical or mental, and to give fair promise of 
additional length of days. 

Nor was Washington unmindful of the sure progress of 
time, and of his liability to be called at any moment to 
" that bourne from which no traveller returns." He had 
for years kept a Will by him, and, after mature reflection, 
had so disposed of his large property as to be satisflictory 
to himself and to the many who were so fortunate and 
happy as to share in his testamentary remembrance.* I 

In the last days at Mount Vernon, desirous of riding 
pleasantly, the general procured from the North two 
horses of the Narraganset breed, celebrated as saddle 
horses. They were well to look at, and were pleasantly 
gaited under the saddle, but were scary, and therefore 
vmfitted for the service of one who liked to ride quietly 
on his farm, occasionally dismounting and walking in his 
fields, to inspect his improvements. From one of these 

* Washington's Will was drawn by himself, and is entirely in his own handwrit- 
ing. It bears the date of July 9th, 1799, and at the bottom of each page his name is 
written. 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 459 

horses the general sustained a heavy fall — probabl}^ the 
only fall he ever had from a horse in his life. It was in 
November, late in the evening. The general, accompanied 
by Major Lewis, Mr. Peake (a gentleman residing in the 
neighborhood), the author of these Recollections, and a 
groom, were returning from Alexandria to Mount Vernon. 
Having halted for a few moments, the general dismounted, 
and upon rising in his stirrup again, the Narraganset, 
alarmed at the glare from a fire near the road- side, sprang 
from under his rider, who came heavily to the ground. 
Our saddles were empty in an instant, and we rushed to 
give our assistance, fearing he was hurt. It was unneces- 
sary. The vigorous old .man was upon his feet again, 
brushing the dust from his clothes ; and, after thanking 
us for our prompt assistance, observed that he was not 
hurt, that he had had a very complete tumble, and that 
it was owing to a cause that no horseman could well avoid 
or control ; that he was only poised in his stirrup, and had 
not yet gained his saddle, when the scary animal sprang 
from under him. Meantime, all our horses had gone off 
at full speed. It was night, and over four miles were to 
be won ere we could reach our destination. The chief 
observed, that, as our horses had disappeared, it only re- 
mained for us to take it on foot, and with manly strides 
led the way. We had proceeded but a short distance on 
our march, as dismounted cavaliers, when our horses hove 
in sight. Happily for us, some of the servants of Mr. 
Peake, whose plantation was hard by, in returning home 
from their labor, encountered our flying steeds, caj^tured 
them, and brought them to us. We were speedily re- 
mounted, and soon the lights at Mount Vernon were seen 
glimmering in the distance. 



460 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The sentinel placed on the watch-tower by Fate to 
guard the desthiies of Washington, might have cried, 
"All 's well !" during the last days at Mount Vernon. All 
was well. All things glided gently and prosperously down 
the stream of time, and all was progressive. Two blades I 
of grass had been made to " grow where but one grew 
before," and a garden " bloomed where flowers had once 
grown wild." 

The best charities of life were gathered around the 
Pater Patrice in the last days at Mount Vernon. The love 
and veneration of a whole people for his illustrious services; 
his generous and untiring labors in the cause of public 
utility; his kindly demeanor to his family circle, his friends, 
and numerous dependants ; his courteous and cordial hos- 
pitality to his guests, many of them strangers from far 
distant lands ; these charities, all of which sprung from the 
heart, were the ornament of his declining years, and gave 
benignant radiance to his setting sun; and that scene, 
the most sublime in nature, where human greatness re- > 
poses on the bosom of human happiness, was to be admired I 
on the banks of the Potomac in the last days at Mount 
Vernon.* 

* A German gentleman in 1858, then eighty-four years of age, wrote as follows 

concerning pictures of the Washington family, which hung in his hall : " Thej 

vividly call to my mind the day — the proudest day of my life — that I passed upon 

the beautiful banks of the Potomac, in the family of the best and greatest personaj^ 

that the world has ever produced. It was in May, 1 798, now nearly sixty-one years 

ago. I was seated at his right hand at dinner, and I recollect as distinctly his ma- 

estic bearing as if it were yesterday. Though of mortality, his overpowering pres- 

nce inspired an impression that he belonged to immortality. His stateliness, his 

erene face, the perfect simplicity of his manners, his modest demeanor, and the 

words of wisdom which he uttered, led me irresistibly to the belief that he was an 

emanation from the Omnipotent, for the marvellous work that he had just then con- 

Bummnted. It was my good fortune to contemplate him in his retirement — after 

bo had left nothing undone that he could perform for the republic of his creation, 



THE RETIRED PRESIDENT. 461 

It pleased Providence to permit the beloved Washing- 
ton to live to witness the fruition of his mighty labors in 
the cause of his country and mankind, while his success 
in the calm and honored pursuits of agriculture and 
rural affairs was grateful to his heart, and shed the most 
benign and happy influence upon the last days at Mount 
Vernon. 

and after he had quitted office for ever ! What a privilege I enjoyed in being hia 
welcome guest ! Of the 240,000,000 of people in Europe, I imagine I am the only 
person, since the death of Lafayette, who was so favored as to break bread and take 
wine with Washington at his own table." 



462 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASIIINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 

OUTLINE LIFE-PICTURES* 

Ekcollections of Mount Vernon — WAsniNGTON going out to the Wars — His Services ik' 

THE FKENCn AND INDIAN WaR9 — BaTTLE OF THE MoNONGAHELA — WASHINGTON A BrIDB- 
GROOM AND FaRMKR — OOES TO THF- FiRST CONGRESS — APPOINTED TO THE ChIEF COMMAND 

OP THE Armies of the United States — Visits Mount Vernon in 1781 — Retirement rROH 
THE Army — Visiters at Mount Vernon — Constitutional Convention — Secretary 
Thomson at Mount Vernon — Washington drawn from his IIetirement to beoome CiiiEr 
Magistrate of the Eepublio — IIis Final Retirement to Private Life — Appointbd 
Commander-in-Chief of the Provisional Army — Anecdote — Washington's Cautioic 
— His Death. 

How many and what glorious recollections crowd upon 
the mind at the mention of Mount Yernon ! It is a name 
that will be hallowed to all time, and the foot of the pil- 
grim journeying from all nations will continue to press 
the turf around the sepulchre where rest the ashes of the 
Father of his Country. The associations in the history 
of this venerated spot, with those in the history of the 
life and actions of its departed master, will ever cause 
Mount Vernon to be " freshly remembered." These as- 
sociations began with the early life of Washington, and 
ended only with his last days on earth. Mount Vernon 
was the home of his youth, the retreat of his advanced 
age, the spot that he most loved, and to which he so 
often retired to find repose from the cares and anxieties 
of public affairs. He never left it but with regret. He 
always returned to it with joy. Could the old halls of 

* First published in the National Intelligencer, on the fourth of July, 1850. 



OUTLINE LIFE-PICTUEES. 4G3 

the ancient mansion exhibit a tableau vivant of the char- 
acters that have been their inmates in by-gone days, what 
a long and imposing list of patriots, statesmen, and war- 
riors would appear to our admiring gaze, to adorn the 
scenes and memories of the past! Let us endeavor to 
sketch a few outlines. 

Our iableaii ojDens in 1753, when Washington crosses 
the threshold of Mount Vernon to enter upon that great 
theatre of life on which he Avas destined to play so illus- 
trious a part. His achievement in penetrating the wil- 
derness, and successful accomplishment of the important 
objects of his mission, amid dangers and diflBculties the 
most appalling, introduced him to the favorable notice 
of the colonial authorities, who, in 1754, intrusted the 
young Virginian with the defence of the frontier of his 
native colony/^ where, after a gallant conflict with the 
enemy, he resigned his commission and retired to 
Mount Vernon. But he was not permitted long to en- 
joy the pleasures of its peaceful shades; for, his martial 
reputation having attracted the notice of General Brad- 
dock, the provincial soldier, in 1755, w^as requested by the 
British veteran to accompany the latter in the ill-fated 
expedition to Fort Duquesne. 

Our taUeau now gives a perspective view of the mem- 
orable ninth of July, and the field of the Monongahela, 
where a youthful hero gathers his first laurels amid the 
fury of the fight, and where his high and chivalric daring 
caused " the wild untutored savag:e" to hail the last 
mounted officer on the field of Monongahela, as " the 
chosen of the great spirit, the warrior who could not die 
in battle."t 

* See note on page 1 59. t See note on page 1 58. 






464 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

At the close of the Seven Years' War, the provincial 
colonel again becomes a private citizen, and returns to 
Mount Vernon to await the call of destiny. 

It is 1759, and our tableau exhibits a gay and joyous 
scene, while the old halls ring again with the reception 
of a bridal party, and Washington enters Mount Vernon 
a prosperous and happy bridegroom. The gallant and 
distinguished soldier now lays aside the " pomp and ci 
cumstance of glorious war," and many years glide ha 
pily along, amid the delights of domestic felicity, the' 
society of family and friends, and the employments of 
agriculture and rural affairs, when our tableau changes to 
1774. The colonial troubles have commenced, and we 
behold the arrival of two distinguished personages at 
Mount Vernon, Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton. 
The object of their visit is to accompany Washington to 
the first Congress, where the soldier had been called by 
the voice of his country, to change the duties of the field 
for those of the senate-house.* 

In 1775, while serving as a member of the first Con* 
gress, Washington is appointed to command in chief the 
annies of the colonies, then assembling to do battle for 
the rights and liberties of unborn generations. He obeys 
the call of destiny and his country ; and for six eventful 
years, big with the fate of liberty and an empire, his 
home is in the tented field.f 

Now, 1781, our tableau shows the long-deserted halls 

* Washington was chosen delegate to represent Virginia in the First Conti- 
nental Congress, which assembled at Philadelphia, on the fifth of September, 
1774. He was accompanied on his journey from Mount Vernon to Philadelphia, 
on that occasion, by Patrick Henry and Edmund Pendleton. Richard Henry Lee 
expected to join them at Mount Vernon, but was detained at home. 

t See note on page 134. 



OUTLINE LIFE-PICTURES. 465 

of Mount Yernon to be animated by the presence of the 
commander-in-chief of the combined armies of America 
and France, accompanied by the Count de Eochambeau 
and a brilliant suite, who halt but for a single day, en 
route for Yorktown.* 

Again our tableau changes, and introduces us, in 1783, 
to happier scenes. The war has ended ; its storms have 
passed away, and the sunshine of peace sheds its benign 
influences upon an infant nation, a free and independent 
people.-j- Annapolis has witnessed a sublime spectacle, 
and Washington, having resigned his commission, and 
" taken leave of the employments of public life," hastens 
to his beloved retirement, and never in this great man's 
long and glorious career did he experience so pure, so 
enviable a delight, as when merging the victorious gen- 
eral into the illustrious farmer of Mount Yernon. 

Our tableau now teems with characters. In the old 
halls of Mount Yernon are assembled chosen spirits, from 
j the wise, the good, and brave of both hemisj)heres, who 
I have journeyed from distant homes, to pay the homage 
' of their hearts to the hero of the age in the retirement 
I of a private citizen. Conspicuous amid this honored 
j group is the good and gallant Lafayette, who, supposing 
\ in 1784 J that he was about to bid adieu to America for 

n * Washington arrived at Mount Vernon on the ninth of September. The next 
I \ day Rocharnbeau and Chastelleux, with their respective suites, arrived. On the 
Ij eleventh, Washington presided at a dinner-party, under his own roof, and on the 
p twelfth, all departed for Williamsburg. Washington was accompanied by John 
I Parke Custis, father of the author of these Recollections, as his aid. They arrived at 
!' Williamsburg on the evening of the fourteenth. 
\ See note on page 370. 

X Lafayette came to America in the summer of 1784. After remaining a few days 
I in New York, he hastened to Mount Vernon, where he remained almost a fortnight. 
j] He again visited the illustrious farmer on the Potomac, just before leaving America, 
|! in November following. 

30 
( 



466 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

the last time, had hastened to Mount Vernon to pay his 
parting respects to the man who, of all men, he most 
loved and admired. 

The retired chief receives his guests with that kindli- 
ness and hospitality for which Mount Vernon was always 
distinguished, while his early rising, his industrious and 
methodical habits of life, his horsemanship in the chase, 
his minute attention to all matters, and the improve- 
ment of his domain, elicited the warmest encomium and j 
admiration of those who, in the old time of day, had the 
good fortune to visit Washington on his farm. 

From the unalloyed happiness in which four years 
were now passed in the employments of agriculture, in 
social and domestic intercourse, occasionally varied by 
the pleasures of the chase, this period in the life of the 
Pater Patnce may truly be said to have been the one in 
which all his ways were " ways of pleasantness," and all 
his paths were peace." i 

Our tahleau changes to 1787, when his country calls ■ 
upon her chosen son to leave the tranquil shades of 
Mount Vernon to take a prominent part in the mo- 
mentous events of the times. The old confederation is 
ended ; a new government is to be formed ; confusion is 
to be succeeded by order. The convention assembles, and 
that immortal constitutional charter, that millions of free- 
men have since so happily enjoyed, received its first 
signature from the hand of George Washington.* 

From this date a young and glorious empire dawned 
upon the world. Conceived in the purity of republican 
freedom, founded on the basis of equal rights and equal 
laws, the great and renowned of the land formed this 

* See note on page 381. 



OUTLINE LIFE-PICTURES. 467 

masterwork of virtue ; and patriotism might well expect 
that it would endure for centuries, till grown hoary by 
time, and from the decline of public virtue it should ex- 
perience the fate of nations, when, from the extent and 
magnificence of its ruins, futurity might read the story 
of its rise, its grandeur, and its fall. 

Our tahleau exhibits, in 1789, important and touching 
events in the histori/ of Mount Vernon. A special envoy 
arrives in the person of Mr. Secretary Thomson, a signer 
of the Declaration of Independence, and a genuine type 
of the hrave old days of '76. Scarcely is he received with 
the warmest welcome, when he declares the object of 
his mission : That he is charged, by the Congress then 
assembled in New York, with the grateful duty of an- 
nouncing to George Washington, a private citizen, his 
election to the presidency of the United States of Amer- 
ica.* 

The recipient of this highest, this proudest dignity 
that can ever be conferred on man, was by no means un- 
prepared for its announcement by the venerable ambas- 
sador. From the period of the ratification of the Con- 
stitution by the states, every mail from every part of the 
Union brought letters to Mount Vernon, all praying the 
retired chief to yield to the united wishes of the people 
to accept the highest dignity in their power to bestow. 
In vain did the happy farmer of Mount Vernon plead 
that advanced age and long services needed repose. 
Many of his old and much-loved companions-in-arms 
gathered around him affectionately, saying, " We feel as- 
sured that you can not, that you will not, refuse the 
wishes of a whole people ; your honored name is heard 

* See note on page 383. 



468 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

from every lip, while in every heart there dwells but one 
sentiment: Washington, cJiicf magistrate of the BepuUicr 

The newly-chosen president was deej)ly affected by 
this generous, this universal testimonial of the love and 
attachment of his countrymen. The people triumphed ! 
The man of the people yielded to the will of the people. 
A day or two sufficed for preparation for departure. A 
sigh to the fond memories of home and happy days of 
retirement, and the first president of the United States 
bade adieu to Mount Vernon. For eight years silence 
reigned in the ancient halls, when, in 1797, they again 
teem with animation. The long-absent master returns. 
Time has blanched his locks, and traced its furrows on 
his noble brow, but his manly form is still erect ; ay, 
with lightsome step and joyous heart he once more en- 
ters the portals of his beloved Mount Yernon. 

Our tableau having exhibited the changing events in 
the history of Mount Vernon for forty-six years, in its 
closing scene portrays the aged chief in his last retire- 
ment. His days are numbered, his glorious race is nearly 
run, yet, when invasion threatens, he obeys the last call 
of his country, and is again in arms, her general and pro- 
tector.* 

When Washington was appointed to his last command 
in the armies of his country, his acceptance was accom- 
panied by an intimation that he should remain in his be- 
loved retirement of Mount Vernon, till imperious circum- 
stances should call him to the field. The commander-in- 
chief gave the necessary attention to military duties 
through his private secretary, Avhile himself continued 
the occupations of rural affairs. 

* See note on page 327. 



OUTLINE LIFE-PICTURES. 469 

A number of the principal characters in the United 
States were desirous that their sons should make a first 
essay in arms imder the immediate auspices of the ven- 
erable chief Among these was the Hon. Charles Carroll, 
of Carrollton, for whom Washington ever entertained the 
very warmest political as well as personal attachment 
and esteem. To Mr. Carroll's application, the general 
replied, that as it was his firm resolve, in case the enemy 
effected a landing, to meet them on the very threshold 
of the empire, he should, in such an event, require about 
his person, officers of tried knowledge and experience in 
war; but with a view to gratify Mr. Carroll, his son 
should be received as an extra aid-de-camp. 

Among the applicants of a more veteran stamp, wag 
Colonel H., of Richmond, one of that band of ardent and 
youthful chivalry, which Virginia sent to the War for In- 
dependence in the very dawn of the Revolution. Col- 
onel H. was lieutenant of Morgan's lamed corps of Rifle- 
men, which performed the memorable march across the 
wintry wilderness of the Kennebec in 1775. During 
that display of almost superhuman privation and toil, 
and in the subsequent assault on Quebec, he displayed 
a hardihood of character, and heroism of heart, that 
won for him the admiration of his comrades, and es- 
teem of their intrepid commander ; and elicited a cog- 
nomen, that a Ney might have been proud to deserve — 
" The most daiing of all who dare'.' Morgan, himself, 
bred in the hardy school of the frontier and Indian 
warfare, declared of Colonel H. — " He exceeds all men. 
During the greatest horrors of our march, when the 
bravest fainted and fell from exhaustion and despon- 
dency, it was he who cheered us on, for oft have I seen 



470 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

him dance upon iJie snow, while he gnawed his moccasins for 
$iibsiste?ice" 

Yet even to the application of such a soldier, did the 
ever cautious mind of Washington pause, while he 
weighed in the balance not the past, but the present 
merits of the man. The general wrote to his nephew, 
then in Richmond, to this effect : " Colonel H. has applied 
to become a member of my military family. In the War 
of the Revolution I knew him well ; and of a truth he 
was then all that could be desired in a good and gallant 
officer, and estimable man ; but time, my dear Bushrod,* 
often changes men as well as things. Now, the object 
of this letter is to inquire whether the Jiahits of Colonel H. 
are unaltered, and whether I shall find him now what I 
knew him to be in other days." The answer to this let- 
ter was most satisftictory. Colonel H. was the same, 
good, gallant, and estimable. The chief was content, and 
quickly marked him for promotion. 

What a moral does this little private memoir impress 
upon those who are high in authority, upon whose knowl- 
edge and judgment of men and things, so often depend 
the destinies of nations ! How careful should chiefs be, 
in the choice of their subordinates, to weigh well in the 
balance the present as well as the past merits of appli- 
cants for office, lest, as in the words of the venerated 
Washington, " Time, tvhich changes men as ivell as ihings^' 

♦ Bushrod Washington, son of the general's brother John Augustine. His profes- 
sion was the law; and in 1798, President Adams appointed him a judge of the su- 
preme court of the United States, an office which he held until his death. He was 
the first president of the American Colonization Society. On the death of General 
Washington he inlierited the estate of Mount Vernon, and the general's books and 
papers. He died at Fhiladclpliia on the twenty-sixth of November, 1829, at the age 
of seventy years. His remains are in the family vault at Mount Vernon, and near 
it is a fine white marble obelisk erected to his memory. 



OUTLINE LIFE-PICTURES. d7l 

may have rendered them unworthy of being " marked 
for promotion." 

After a long and unexampled career of glory in the 
service of his country and mankind, well stricken in 
years and laden with honors, in his own beloved Mount 
Yernon, with the fortitude and resignation befitting the 
Roman fame of his life and actions, the Pater Patriae 
yielded up his soul to Him who gave it, calmly declaring, 
"I am not afraid to die." 

Our tableau vivant closes with the grandeur and solem- 
nity of the spectacle that bore him to his grave. 



47^ RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTEE XXIV. 

LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON. 

Last Scrvivor or the Death-Scene — 'Washington Exposed to a Storm — Symptoms of 
Sickness — Tub Succeeding Evening late in his Library — Characteristic Remarz 
TO Mrs. Washington — Sleeplessness — Alarm — Physicians sent for — Doctor Cbajk 
— Severity of the Illness — Calls for his "Will — Directions about his Body — A 
Scriptural Custom Observed — Why no Clergyman was at thb Death-bed of Wash- 
ington — Mrs. Washington's Secret Prayers — The Closing Scene. 

Tw._. ,ea. we p... .nee an .te.^ 
group were assembled in the death room, and witnessed 
the last hours of Washington * So keen and unsparing 
hath been the scythe of time, that of all those who 
watched over the patriarch's couch, on the thirteenth 
and fourteenth of December, 1799, but a single person- 
age survives.'}" 

On the morning of the thirteenth, the general was en- 
gaged in making some improvements in the front of 
Mount Vernon.J As was usual with him, he carried his 

* This was first published in the National Intelligencer, in February, 1827. 

t The persons here alluded to were, Mrs. Washington, Christopher, a favorite 
house-servant who attended upon the master, Colonel Tobias Lear, Mrs. Forbes, the 
houH^ekceper, Mr. Albert Rawlins, Drs. Craik, Brown, and Dick, and Caroline, 
Molly, and Charlotte, three of the house-servants. Mrs. Lewis (Eleanor Parke Custis) 
was confined, by childbirth, to an upper chamber, and her husband and the author 
of these Recollections, were absent in New Kent. Who the survivor was, to whom 
the author alludes, can not now be determined. 

I Colonel Tobias Lear, a talented and educated gentleman, who resided many 
years with Washington, first as secretary, and afterwards as superintendent of his 
private aflfairs, wrote, immediately after the death of the patriot, a circumstantial 



LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON, 473 

own compass, noted his observations, and marked out the 
ground. The day became rainy, with sleet, and the im- 
prover remained so long exposed to the inclemency of 
the weather as to be considerably wetted before his re- 
turn to the house. About one o'clock he was seized with 
chilliness and nausea, but having changed his clothes, he 
sat down to his in-door w^ork — there being no moment 
of his time for which he had not provided an appropriate 
employment. 

At night on joining his fjimily circle, the general com- 
plained of a slight indisposition, and after a single cup of 
tea, repaired to his library, where he remained writing 
until between eleven and twelve o'clock.* Mrs. Wash- 
ington retired about the usual family hour, but becoming 
alarmed at not hearing the accustomed sound of the li- 
brary door as it closed for the night, and gave signal for 
rest in the well-regulated mansion, she rose again, and 
continued sitting up, in much anxiety and suspense. At 
length the well-known step was heard on the stair, and 
upon the general's entering his chamber, the lady chided 
him for staying up so late, knowing him to be unwell, to 
which Washington made this memorably reply : " I came 
so soon as my business was accomplished. You well 

account of the scenes at his departure. He was present during his illness and at 
his death, and above all others was most competent to give a correct narrative. His 
account, much more minute than Mr. Custis's, agrees substantially with the more 
concise narrative in this chapter. It may be found in the Life and Writings of 
Washington, by Jared Sparks, i. 555. "JJI ^ i C' 

* Mr. Lear says, " that in the evening the papers were brought from the post- 
office, and the family remained in the parlor until nine o'clock, when Mrs. Wash- 

I ington went up to Mrs. Lewis's room. After that he and the general read. Wash- 
ington was quite hoarse ; and when he left, as Lear supposed, for the night, the 

I latter observed to the general, that he had better take something for his cold. 

I Washington replied, "No ; you know I never take anything for a cold — let it go 

i as it came." 



474 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



J 



know that through a long life, it has been my unvaried 
rule, never to put off till the morrow the duties which 
should be performed to-day." 

Having first covered the fire with care, the man of 
mighty labors sought repose ; but it came not, as it long 
had been wont to do, to comfort and restore after the 
many and earnest occupations of the well-spent day. 
The night was passed in feverish restlessness and pain. 
" Tired nature's sweet restorer, balmy sleep," was destined 
no more to visit his couch ; yet the manl}^ sufferer utter- 
ed no complaint, would permit no one to be disturbed in 
their rest, on his account, and it was only at daybreak 
he would consent that the overseer might be called in, 
and bleeding resorted to. A vein was opened, but no 
relief afforded. Couriers were despatched to Dr. Craik,* 

* Doctor James Craik was born at Abigland, near Dumfries, Scotland, in 1730, 
and at about that time, John Paul, the father of John Paul Jones, was the gardener 
of Dr. Craik's father. Dr. Craik came to America in 1750. He had practised his 
profession a short time in the West Indies. He settled in Virginia; and on the 
seventh of March, 1754, he was commissioned a surgeon in Colonel Fry's regiment, ; 
which was commanded by Washington on the death of that officer. He served io | 
the provincial army during a greater portion of the French and Indian war. At 
that time his home was in Winchester, Virginia. He was married in December, 
1760. In 1770 he accompanied Washington to the Ohio, and then it was that the 
scene of the Indian Prophecy occurred, which is cited in chapter xi. of this work. 
He afterw.ards settled near Port Tobacco, Charles county, Maryland, where he built 
a fine house, but by the persuasion of Washington, he removed to Alexandria. In 
1777, Dr. Craik was appointed assistant director-general in the liospital department 
of the continental army. He continued to reside in Alexandria, until old age caused 
him to relinquish the practice of his profession, when he retired to Vaucluse, a part 
of the Ravensworth estate, where he died in February, 1814, at the age of eighty-four 
years. His wife died a few montlis afterward, al the age of seventy-four. Dr. 
Craik had nine children — six sons and three daughters. His eldest son, William, 
was a representative in Congress from 1796 to 1801, when he was appointed judge of 
the federal court. He and the author of these Recollections married sisters, the 
daughters of William Fitzhugh, of Chatham, Virginia. His younger son, George 
Washington, born in 1774, was President Washington's private secretary. 

Dr. Craik was vigorous and active until the last. His grandson, Rev. Joroca 



LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON. 475 

the family,* and Drs. Dick and Brown,-|* the consulting 
physicians, all of whom came with speed. The proper 
remedies were administered, but without producing their 
healing effects ; while the patient, yielding to the anxious 
looks of all around him, waived his usual objections to 
medicines, and took those which were prescribed without 
hesitation or remark. The medical gentlemen spared 
not their skill, and all the resources of their art were ex- 
hausted in unwearied endeavors to preserve this noblest 
work of nature. 

The night approached — the last night of Washington. 
The weather became severely cold while the group gath- 
ered nearer to the couch of the sufferer, watching with 
: intense anxiety for the slightest dawning of hope. He 
I spoke but little. To the respectful and affectionate in 
quiries of an old family servant, as she smoothed down 
' his pillow, how he felt himself, he answered, " I am very 
J ill." To Dr. Craik, his earliest companion-in-arms, longest 
1 tried and bosom friend, he observed, " I am dying, sir — 
, but am not afraid to die." To Mrs. Washington he said, 
" Go to my desk, and in the private drawer you will find 
I two papers — bring them to me." They were brought. 

j Craik, of Louisville, Kentucky, from whom I received the foregoing facts, says : " He 

I was a stout, thick-set man, perfectly erect, no stoop of the shoulders, and no appear- 
ance of debility in his carriage. Not long before his death he ran a race with me 
(then about eight years old), in the fi'ont yard of the house, at Vaucluse, before the 

j assembled family." A profile of Dr. Craik, in Silhoutte, may be found in a work, 

\ by the author of these notes, entitled Mount Vernon and its Associations. 

I * These were Mrs. Law and Mrs. Peter, and their husbands, the grandchildren of 
Mrs. Washington ; also her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Stuart. None of them arrived 

:| Wore Washington's death. 

|< t These were neighboring physicians. Dr. Craik had advised Washington to 
send for Dr. Brown, of Port Tobacco, in the event of severe illness in his family 

I during the absence of Dr. Craik. Dr. Elisha C. Dick was generally the consulting 

y physician with Dr. Craik. 



476 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

He continued — "These are my Wills — preserve this one 
and burn the other," which was accordingly done. Call- 
ing to Colonel L.ear, he directed — " Let my corpse be kept 
for the usual period of three days."* 

The custom of keeping the dead for the scriptural 
period of three days, is derived from remote antiquity, 
and arose, not from fear of premature interment, as in 
more modern times, but from motives of veneration 
toward the deceased ; for -the better enabling the rela- 
tives and friends to assemble from a distance, to perform 
the funeral rites ; for the pious watchings of the corpse; 
and for many sad, yet endearing ceremonies w^ith which 
we delight to pay our last duties to the remains of those 
we loved. 

The patient bore his acute sufferings with fortitude 
and perfect resignation to the Divine will, while as the 
night advanced it became evident that he was sinking, 
and he seemed fully aware that " his hour was nigh." 
He inquired the time, and was answered a few minutes 
to ten. He spoke no more — the hand of death wa^s 
upon him, and he was conscious that " his hour was come." 
With surprising self-possession he prepared to die. Com- 
posing his form at length, and folding his arms on his 
bosom, without a sigh, without a groan, the Father of his 
Country died. No pang or struggle told when the no- 
ble spirit took its noiseless flight ;f while so tranquil 

* " At length," he said, " I am just Roing. Have me decently buried ; and do 
not let my body be put into the vault in less than three days after I am dead." — 
Mr. Lear's statement. 

t " Dr. Craik," says Mr. Lear, " put his hands over his eyes, and he expired 
without a strupfpjle or a sigh. While we were fixed in silent grief," he continues, 
" Mrs. Washington, who was sitting at the foot of the bed, asked, with a firm and 
collected voice, ' Is ho gone V I could not speak, but held up my hand as a signal, 



LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON. 477 

appeared the manly features in the repose of death, that 
some moments had passed ere those around could believe 
that the patriarch was no more. 

It may be asked, Why was the ministry of religion 
wanting to shed its peaceful and benign lustre upon the 
last hours of Washington ? Why was he, to whom the 
observances of sacred things were ever primary duties 
throuy-hout life, without their consolations in his last mo- 
ments ? We answer, circumstances did not permit. It 
was but for a little while that the disease assumed so 
threatening a character as to forbid the encouragement 
of hope ; yet, to stay that summons which none may re- 
fuse, to give still farther length of days to him whose 
" time-honored life" was so dear to mankind, prayer was 
not wanting to the throne of Grace. Close to the couch 
of the sufferer, resting her head upon that ancient bool^ 
with which she had been wont to hold pious communion 
a portion of every day, for more than half a century, was 
the venerable consort, absorbed in silent prayer, and 
from which she only arose when the mourning group 
prepared to lead her from the chamber of the dead. 
Such were the last hours of Washington.* 

that he was no more. ' 'Tis well,' said she, in the same voice, ' all is now over ; 1 
shall soon follow him ; I have no more trials to pass through.' " 

* Washington died on Saturday night, the fourteenth of December, 1799, between 
the hours of ten and eleven. On Sunday a coffin was procured from Alexandria, 
and on the same day several of the family arrived. The coffin was made of ma- 
hogany, lined with lead, and upon it was placed at the head, an ornament inscribed 
Surge ad Judicium; about the middle of the coffin, Gloria Deo; and on a small 
silver plate, in the form of the American shield, were the words : 
GEORGE WASHINGTON, 

BORN FEB. 22, 1732. 
died DECEMBER 14, 1799. 

The time for the funeral was fixed on Wednesday the eighteenth, at twelve o'clodc, 
and the Rev. Mr. Davis was invited to perform the funeral services, according to the 



W' 



478 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

ritual of the Protestant Episcopal church. The family having been informed that 
the military and Freemasons of Alexandria desired to participate in the ceremonies, 
arrangements were made accordingly. People began to collect at Mount Veraon 
at eleven o'clock ; but as a great part of the troops did not get down from Alexan- 
dria in time, the ceremonies were postponed until three. Eleven pieces of artillery 
were brought down from Alexandria ; and a schooner belonging to Mr. Robert Ham- 
ilton, of that city, lay off Mount Vernon, and fired minute-guns. 

The arrangements of the procession were made by Colonels Little, Simms, Den- 
eale, and Dr. Dick. It moved at three o'clock. The pall-bearers were Colonels 
Little, Simms, Payne, Gilpin, Ramsay, and Marsleter. Colonel Blackburn pre- 
ceded the corpse. Colonel Deneale marched with the military. The procession 
moved out through the gate at the left wing of the house, and proceeded round in 
front of the lawn, and down to the vault on the right wing of the house. The fol- 
lowing was the composition and order of the procession : — 
The troops, horse and foot. 
The clergy, nameh', the Rev. Messrs. Davis, Muir, Moffat, and Addison. 
The general's horse, with his saddle, holsters, and pistols, led by two grooms, 
Cyrus, and Wilson, in black. 
The body, borne by the Freemasons and officers. 
Principal mourners, namely, 
Mrs. Stuart and Mrs. Law. 
Misses Nancy and Sally Stuart. 
Miss Fairfax and Miss Dennison. 
Mr. Law and Mr. Peter. 
Mr. Lear and Dr. Craik. 
Lord Fairfax and Ferdinando Fairfax. 
Lodge, No. 23. 
Corporation of Alexandria. 
All other persons, preceded by Mr. Anderson and the overseer. 
"When the body arrived at the vault, the Rev. Mr. Davis read the service, and 
pronounced a short address. The Masons then performed their ceremonies, and the 
body was deposited in the vault. Three general discharges of musketry were given 
by the infantry ; and eleven pieces of artillery, which were ranged back of the vault, 
and simultaneously discharged, " paid the last tribute to the entombed commander-in- 
chief of the armies of the United States." The vault was tlie old one, on the brow 
of the hill, now in ruins. The new tomb, directed by Washington, in his Will, to be 
constructed, was not made until many years afterward. 

The Congress, then sitting in Philadelphia, received information of the death of 
Washington on the eighteenth, and on the following day the announcement was 
formally made on the floor of the house of representatives, by the Honorable John 
Marshall, of Virginia (afterward chief-justice of the United States), and the house, 
after some appropriate action, adjourned. On the twenty-third, the Congress adopt- 
ed joint resolutions — Jirst, that a marble monument should he erected at the capitol, 
already mentioned in the preceding chapter ; secondly, that there should bo " a funeral 
procession from Congress hall to the German Lutheran church, in memory of 



I 



LAST HOURS OF WASHINGTON. 479 

General George Washington, on Thursday the twenty-sixth instant, and that an 
oration be prepared at the request of Congress, to be delivered before both houses 
that day; and that the president of the senate, and the speaker of the house of rep- 
i-esentatives, be desired to request one of the members of Congress to perform and 
deliver the same ; thirdly, that the people of the United States should be recommend- 
ed to wear crape on their left arm as mourning for thirty days ; fourthly, that the 
president of the United States should direct a copy of the resolutions to Mrs. Wash- 
ington, with words of condolence, and a request that his remains might be interred 
at the capitol of the Republic. 

On the thirtieth of December, Congress further resolved that it should be recom- 
mended to the people of the Union, to assemble on the succeeding twenty-second of 
February, " to testify their grief by suitable eulogies, orations, and discourses, or by 
public prayers." 

Pursuant to one of the foregoing resolutions. General Henry Lee, then a member 
of Congress, was invited to pronounce a funeral oration. He consented, and the 
Lutheran church in Fourth street, above Arch, Philadelphia, the largest in the city, - 
was crowded on the occasion. The M'Pherson Blues, a corps of three hundi-ed 
men, composed of the elite of the city, were a guard of honor on that occasion. 
There are now [July, 1859] only six survivors of that corps, who were present on the 
occasion, namely, Samuel Breck, aged eighty-eight, S. Palmer, aged seventy-nine, 
S. F. Smith, aged seventy-nine, C. N. Bancker, aged eighty-three, Quinton 
Campbell, aged eighty-three, and John F. Watson (the annalist of Philadelphia and 
New York), aged eighty. These names were given me by Mr. Breck, at a recent 
interview. General Lee's oration on that occasion will be found in the Appendix 
to this Tolame. 



480 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXV. 

PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 

Common Likeness op Portraits — Failure in the Delineation of "WAsmNGTON's Figcru — I 
IIis Form and Weight — Trumbull's Equestrian Statue of Washington — Washington's 1 
Height — His Limbs — Power of his Arm displayed — Illustration given by Charles] 
Willson Pealb — Easy Exercise of His Powers — Wrestling — Anecdote of His Earlt I 
Life — His Large Hand — His Resemblance to Ralph Izakd — Washington's Features] 

— His Equestrian Accomplishments — Marked foe His Martial Elegance in New Yobkj 

— Anecdote. 

All of the many portraits which have been given of 
Washington, possess a resemblance, from the drawings on 
a signboard to the galleries of taste.* He was so unique, 
so unlike any one else, his whole appearance so striking 
and impressive, that it was almost impossible to.ni^ike a 
total failure, in forming a likeness of him, "-^m^wiiom 
every God ^, appear^ to fefcve set his seal, to give the 
world assurance of a man." 

While several original pictures and sculptures are ex- 
cellent likenesses of his physiognomy, in various stages 
of Hfe, there has been a general ftiilure in the delineation 
of his figure. His manliness has been misrepresented by 
bulkiness, while his vigorous, elastic frame, in which so 
many graces combined, has been drawn from the model 

* John B. Moreiiu, Esquire, of New York, has a large collection of engraved por- 
traits of Washington, American and foreign. Among them are one hundred and 
five different engravings, all dissimilar. Yet, with a few exceptions, all present soma 
resemblance to Washington, as delineated by the best artists. 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 481 

of Ajax, when its true personification should be that of 
Achilles. 

With all its developments of muscular power, the form 
of Washington had no appearance of bulkiness, and so 
harmonious were its proportions that he did not appear 
so passing tall as his portraits have represented. He was 
rather spare than full during his whole life ; this is readily 
ascertained from his weiorht. The last time he weighed 
was in the summer of 1799, when having made the tour 
of his farms, accompanied by an English gentleman, he 
called at his mill and was weighed. The writer placed 
the weight in the scales. The Englishman, not so tall, 
but stout, square built, and fleshy, weighed heavily, and 
expressed much surprise that the general had not out- 
weighed him, when Washington observed, that the best 
weight of his best days never exceeded from two hun- 
dred and ten to two hundred and twenty pounds. In the 
instance alluded to he weighed a little rising two hun- 
dred and ten. 

Of the portraits of Washington, the most of them give 
to his person a fullness that it did not possess, together 
with an abdominal enlargement greater than in the life, 
while his matchless limbs have in but two instances been 
faithfully portrayed — in the equestrian portrait by Trum- 
bull, of 1790, a copy of which is in the city hall of New 
York, and in an engraving by Loisier, from a painting 
by Cogniet, French artists of distinguished merit. The 
latter is not an original painting, the head being from 
Stuart, but the delineation of the limbs is the most per- 
fect extant.* 

General Washington, in the prime of life, stood six 

=* See the next chapter. 
31 



482 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

feet two inches, and measured precisely six feet when 
attired for the grave. From the period of the Revolu- 
tion, there was an evident bending in that frame so pass- 
ing straight before, but the stoop is attributable rather to 
the care and toils of that arduous contest than to age : 
for his step was firm, and his carriage noble and com- 
manding, long after the time when the physical proper- 
ties of man are supposed to be in the wane. 

To a majestic height, was added correspondent breadth 
and firmness, and his whole person was so cast in na- 
ture's finest mould as to resemble the classic remains 
of ancient statuary, where all the parts contribute to the 
purity and perfection of the whole. 

The power of Washington's arm was displaj^ed in sev-| 
eral memorable instances ; in his throwing a stone from 
the bed of the stream to the top of the Natural Bridge ; 
another over the Palisades into the Hudson, and yet an- 
other across the Rappahannock, at Fredericksburg. Of 
the article with which he spanned this bold and naviga- 
ble stream, there are various accounts. We are assured 
that it was a piece of slate, fashioned to about the size 
and shape of a dollar, and which, sent by an arm so 
strong, not only spanned the river, but took the ground 
at least thirty yards on the other side. Numbers have 
since tried this feat, but none have cleared the water. 
'Tis the "Douglas cast," made in the days when Vir. 
ginia's men were strong, as her maids are fair ; when the 
hardy sports of the gymnasium prepared the body to 
answer the " trumpet call to war," and gave vigor and 
elevation to the mind, while our modern habits would 
rather fit the youth "to caper nimbly in a lady's 
chamber." ' 



A 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 483 

While the late and venerable Charles Willson Peale 
was at Mount Vernon, in 1772, engaged in painting the 
portrait of the provincial colonel, some young men were 
contending in the exercise of pitching the bar. Wash- 
ington looked on for a time, then grasping the missile in 
his master hand, w^hirled the iron through the air, which 
took the ground far, very far, beyond any of its former 
limits — the colonel observing, with a smile, "You per- 
ceive, young gentlemen, that my arm yet retains some 
portion of the vigor of my earlier days." He Avas then 
in his fortieth year, and probably in the full meridian of 
his physical powers; but those powers became rather 
mellowed than decayed by time, for " his age was lilce a 
lusty winter, frosty yet kindly," and, up to his sixty- 
eighth year, he mounted a horse with surprising agility, 
and rode with the ease and gracefulness of his better 
days. His personal prowess that elicited the admiration 
of a people who have nearly all passed from the stage of 
life, still serves as a model for the manhood of modern 
times. 

In the various exhibitions of Washington's great phys- 
ical powers, they were apparently attended by scarcely 
any effort. When he overthrew the strong man of Vir- 
ginia in wrestling, while many of the finest of the young 
athletae of the times were engaged in the manly games, 
Washington had retired to the shade of a tree, intent 
upon the perusal of a favorite volume ; and it was only 
when the champion of the games strode through the 
ring, calling for nobler competitors, and taunting the 
student with the reproach that it was the fear of en- 
countering so redoubted an antagonist that kept him 
from the ring, that Washington closed his 'book, and, 



484 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

without divesting himself of his coat, calmly walked into 
the arena, observing, that fear formed no part of his be- 
ing ; then grappling with the champion, the struggle was 
fierce but momentary, for, said the vanquished hero of 
the arena, in Washington's lion-like grasp, I became 
powerless, and was hurled to the ground with a force 
that seemed to jar the very marrow in my bones ; while 
the victor, regardless of the shouts that proclaimed his 
triumph, leisurely retired to his shade, and the enjoy- 
ment of his favorite volume. 

Washington's powers were chiefly in his limbs : they 
were long, large, and sinewy. His frame was of equal 
breadth from the shoulders to the hips. His chest, 
though broad and expansive, was not prominent, butf 
rather hollowed in the centre. He had suffered from a 
pulmonary affection in early life, from which he nevern 
entirely recovered. His frame showed an extraordinary 
development of bone and muscle ; his joints were large, 
as were his feet ; and could a cast have been preserved 
of his hand, to be exhibited in these degenerate days, it 
would be said to have belonged to the being of a fabulous I 
age. During Lafayette's visit to Mount Vernon in 1825, 
he said to the writer, "I never saw so large a hand on 
any human being, as the general's. It was in this port- 
ico, in 1784, that you were introduced to me by the gen- 
eral. You were a very little gentleman, with a feather 
in your hat, and holding fast to one finger of the good 
general's remarkable hand, which was all you could do. 
my dear sir, at that time." 

To a question that we have been asked a thousand 
and one times, viz. — to what individual, known to any 
who are yet living, did the person of Washington bear 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 485 

the nearest resemblance ? — we answer, to Ralph Izard, 
senator from South Carolina, in the first Congress under 
the Constitution. The form of Izard was cast in nature's 
manliest mouldy while his air and manner were both dig- 
nified and imposing. He acquired great distinction while 
pursuing his studies in England, for his remarkable prow- 
ess in the athletic exercises of that distant period.* 

An ofiicer of the Life-Guard has been often heard to 
observe, that the commander-in-chief was thought to be 
the strongest man in the army, and yet what thews and 
sinews were to be found in the army of the Revolution. 
In 1781, a company of riflemen from the county of Au- 
gusta, in Virginia, reinforced the troops of Lafayette. 
As the stalwart band of mountaineers, defiled before the 
general, the astonished and admiring Frenchman ex- 
claimed, " Mon Dieu ! what a people are these Ameri- 
cans ; they have reinforced me with a band of giants !" 

Washington's physiognomy was decidedly Roman — 
not in its type expressing the reckless ambition of the 
"broad-fronted Caesar," or the luxurious indulgence of 
the " curled Anthony," but rather of the better age of 
Rome — the Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, or the Scipios. 

An equestrian portraiture is particularly well suited to 
him who rode so well, and who was much attached to 
the noble animal which so oft and so gallantly had borne 
him in the chase, in war, and in the perilous service of 
the frontier. Rickets, the celebrated equestrian, used to 

* Ralph Izard represented South Carolina in the United States senate, from 1789 
to 1795. He was distinguished as an eloquent statesman, and was loved by Wash- 
ington for his integrity and purity of character. In the senate he had the confidence 
■of all parties. Mr. Izard was wealthy, and held a high social distinction. His wife 
was a daughter of Peter Delancey, of New York. Mr. Izard died in May, 1804, at 
the age of sixty-six years. 



486 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

say, " I delight to see the general ride, and make it a 
point to ftill in with him when I hear that he is abroad 
on horseback — his seat is so firm, his management so 
easy and graceful, that I, who am a professor of horse- 
manship, would go to him and learn to nde^ 

Bred in the vigorous school of the frontier warfare 
" the earth his bed, his canopy the heavens," he excelled 
the hunter and woodsman in their athletic habits, and in 
those trials of manhood which distinguished the hardy 
days of his early life. He Vv'as amazingly swift of foot, 
and could climb the mountain steep, and " not a sob con- 
fess his toil." 

So long ago as the days of the vice-regal court at 
Williamsburg, in the time of Lord Botetourt, Colonel 
Washington was remarkable for his splendid person. The 
air with which he wore a small sword, and his peculiar 
walk, that had the light elastic tread acquired by his 
long service on the frontier, and a matter of much ob- 
servation, especially to foreigners. 

While Colonel Washington was on a visit to New 
York, in 1773,* it was boasted at the table of the 
British governor that a regiment, just landed from 
England, contained among its officers some of the 
finest specimens of martial elegance in his Majesty's 
service — in fact, the most superb looking fellows ever 
landed upon the shores of the New World. '• I wager 
your excellency a pair of gloves," said Mrs. Morris, an 
American lady, " that I will show you a finer man in the 
procession to-morrow, than your excellency can select 

* Wushinfjton visited New York, on that occasion, for the purpose of placing 
Mrs. Washington's son, John Parke Curtis, in King's (now Columbia) college. 
He arrived there on the thirty-first of May, and remained until after the king's 
birthday, the fourth of June. 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 487 

from your famous regiment ?" — " Done, madam !" replied 
the governor. The morrow came (the fourth of June), 
and the procession, in honor of the birthday of the king, 
advanced through Broadway to the strains of mihtary 
music. As the troops defiled before the governor, he 
pointed out to the lady several officers by name, claim- 
ing her admiration for their sujDcrior persons and bril- 
liant equipments. In rear of the troops came a band of 
officers not on duty — colonial officers — and strangers of 
distinction. Immediately, on their approach, the atten- 
tion of the governor was seen to be directed toward a 
tall and martial figure, that marched with grave and 
measured tread, apparently indifferent to the scene 
around him. The lady now archly observed, "I per- 
ceive that your excellency's eyes are turned to the 
right object; what say you to your wager now, sir?" 
"Lost, madam," replied the gallant governor; "when I 
laid my wager, I was not aware that Colonel Washing- 
ton was in New York."* 

* The following interesting sketch of the personal appearance of Washington is 
from an anonymous hand : — 

" I saw this remarkable man four times. It was in the month of November, 
1798, 1 first beheld the Father of his Country. It was very cold, the northwest wind 
blowing hard down the Potomac, at Georgetown, D. C. A troop of light-horse 
from Alexandria escorted him to the western bank of the river. The waves ran 
high, and the boat which brought him over seemed to labor considerably. Several 
thousand people greeted his arrival with swelling hearts and joyful countenances; 
the military were drawn up in a long line to receive him ; the officers, dressed in 
regimentals, did him homage. I was so fortunate as to walk by his side, and had a 
full view of him. Although only about ten years of age, the impression his person 
and manner then made on me is now perfectly revived. He was six feet and one 
inch high, broad and athletic, with very large limbs, entirely erect, and without the 
slightest tendency to stooping ; his hair was white, and tied with a silk string, hia 
countenance lofty, masculine, and contemplative ; his eye light gray. He was 
dressed in the clothes of a citizen, and over these a blue surtout of the finest cloth. 
His weight must have been two hundred and thirty pounds, with no supei-fluous 
flesh, all was bone and sinew, and he walked like a soldier. Whoever has seen, in 



488 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

In person, Washington, as we have said, was unique. 
He looked like no one else. To a stature lofty and 

the patent-office at Washington, the dress he wore when resigning his commissioa 
88 commander-in-chief, in December, 1783, at once perceives how large an J mag- 
nificent was his frame. During the parade, something at a distance suddenly 
attracted his attention ; his eye was instantaneously lighted up as with the light- 
ning's flash. At this moment I see its marvellous animation, its glowing fire, 
exhibiting strong passion, controlled by deliberate reason. 

"In the summer of 1799 I again saw the chief. He rode a purely white horse, 
seventeen hands high, well proportioned, of high spirit : he almost seemed con- 
scious that he bore on his back the Father of his Country. He reminded me of the 
war-horse whose neck is clothed with thunder. I have seen some highly-accom- 
plished riders, but not one of them approached Washington ; he was perfect in this 
respect. Behind him, at the distance of perhaps forty yards, came Billy Lee, his 
body-servant, who had perilled his life in many a field, beginning on the heights of 
Boston, in 1775, and ending in 1781, when Cornwallis surrendered, and the captive 
army, with unexpressible chagrin, laid down their arms at Yorktown. Billy rode 
a cream-colored horse, of the finest form, and his old Revolutionary cocked hat indi-j 
cated that its owner had often heard the roar of cannon and small arms, and had ' 
encountered many trying scenes. Billy was a dark mulatto. His master speaks 
highly of him in his will, and provides for his support. 

" Sometime during this year, perhaps, I saw him at Seeme's tavern, in George-| I 
town ; the steps, porch, and street, were crowded with persons desirous of behold- 
ing the man. 

" I viewed him through a window. The most venerable, dignified, and wealthy 
men of the town were there, some conversing with him. Washington seemed 
almost a different being from any of them, and, indeed, from any other person ever 
reared in this country. His countenance was not so animated as when I first saw 
him, for then his complexion was as ruddy as if he were only twenty years old. 

"A few months before his death, I beheld this extraordinary man for the last 
time. He stopped at the tavern opposite the Presbyterian church, in Bridge street, 
. Georgetown. At that time, a regiment of soldiers was stationed in their tents, on 
the banks of Rock creek, and frequently attended Dr. Balch's church, dressed in 
their costume, and powdered after the Revolutionary fashion. I attended their 
parade almost every day, and, on one of these occasions, I recognised Washington 
riding on horseback, unaccompanied by any one. He was going out to see his 
houses on Capitol hill, as I supposed. They were burnt by the British, in 1814. 
My youthful eye was riveted on him until he disappeared, and that for ever. I was 
sarpriscd, that he did not once look at the parade ; so far as I could discover, on 
the contrary, he appeared indifferent to the whole scene. 

" It has been my privilege to see the best likenesses of the chief. The one of all 
others most resembling him, is that prefixed to the first volume of ' Irving's Life 
of Washington.' All the rest wanted the animation which I perceived in his fear 
tares. 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 489 

commanding, he united a form of the manUest propor- 
tions, Hmbs cast in Nature's finest mould, and a carriage 
the most dignified, graceful, and imposing. No one ever 
approached the Pater Patriae that did not feel his pre- 
sence. 

Of the remarkable des-ree of awe and reverence that 
the presence of Washington always inspired, we shall 
give one out of a thousand instances. During the 
cantonment of the American army at the Valley Forge, 
some officers of the fourth Pennsylvania regiment were 
engaged in a game of fives. In the midst of their sport, 
they discovered the commander-in-chief leaning upon 
the enclosure, and beholding the game with evident sat- 
isfaction. In a moment all things were changed. The 
ball was suffered to roll idly away ; the gay laugh and 
joyous shout of excitement were hushed into a pro- 
found silence, and the officers were gravely grouped 
together. It was in vain the chief beo-oed of the 
players that they would proceed with their game, 
declared the pleasure he had experienced from wit- 
nessing their skill, spoke of a proficiency in the manly 
exercise that he himself could have boasted of in other 
days. All would not do. Not a man could be induced 
to move, till the general, finding that his presence 
hindered the officers from continuing the amusement, 
bowed, and, wishing them good sport, retired.* 

" In personal appearance, Washington has never been equalled by any man in 
the United States. I agree with Lord Erskine, when he said that the Father of his 
Country was the only man he ever saw whose character he could not contemplate 
without awe and wonder. B." 

* A part of this chapter was published in the National Intelligencer in 1826, a part 
in 1842, and a part in 1857. As each communication was upon the same subject, 
and in some paragraphs quite similar in fact and expression, I have combined the 
three parts ia one. In February, 1847, the folio wiug article on the Character and 



490 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Personal Appearance of Washington, appenred in the National Intelligencer, over the 
signature of Sigtna, and appears to have an appropriate place here : — 

" The description given by ' R.' [a correspondent of the Intelligencer] of Washing- 
ton's approiich to the hall of Congress in Pliiladulphia, has freshly awakened my own 
reminiscences of the same scene. Its vivid truth can not be surpassed. I stood with 
him on that same stone platform, before the door of the hall, elevated by a few steps 
from the pavement, when the carriage of the president drew up. It was, as he de- 
scribes it, white, or rather of a light cream color, painted on the panels with beautiful 
groups, by Cipriani, representing the four seasons. The horses, according to my 
recollection, were white, in unison with the carriage. R. says they were bays ; per- 
haps he is more correct. As he alighted, and, ascending the steps, paused upon the 
platform, looking over his shoulder, in an attitude that would have furnish*d an ad- 
mirable subject for the pencil, he was preceded by two gentlemen bearing long white 
wands, who kept back the eager crowd that pressed on every side to get a nearer 
view. At that moment I stood so near that I might have touched his clothes ; but I 
should as soon have thought of touching an electric battery. I was penetrated with 
a veneration amounting to the deepest awe. Nor was this the feeling of a school-boy 
only ; it pervaded, I believe, every human beinsr that approached Washington ; andj 
I have been told that, even in his social and convivial hours, this feeling in those who! 
were honored to share them never suffered intermission. I saw him a hundred times! 
afterward, but never with any other than that same feeling. The Almighty, who 
raised up for our hour of need a man so peculiarly prepared for its whole dread re- 
sponsibility, seems to have put an impress of sacredness upon his own instrument. 
The first sight of the man struck the heart with involuntary homage, and prepared 
everything around him to obey. When he 'addressed himself to speak' there 
was an unconscious suspension of the breath, while every eye was raised in expec 
tation. 

" At the time I speak of he stood in profound silence, and had th.it statue-like air 
which mental greatness alone can bestow. As he turned to enter the building, and 
was ascending the staircase leading to the Congressional hall, I glided along unper- 
ceived, almost under cover of the skirts of his dress, and entered instantly after him 
into the lobby of the house, wlych was of course in session to receive him. On 
either hand, from the entrance, stood a large cast-iron stove ; and, resolved to secure 
the unhoped-for privilege I had so unexpectedly obtained, I clambered, boy-like, on 
this stove (fortunately then not much heated), and from that favorable elevation, en- 
joyed, for the first time (what I have since so many thousands of times witnessed 
with comparative indifference), an uninterrupted view of the American Congress in 
full session, every member in his place. Shall I he pardoned for saying its aspect 
was very different from wiiat we now witness? There was an air of decorum, of 
composure, of reflection, of gentlemanly and polished dignity, which has fled, or lin- 
gers only with here and there a ' relic of the olden time.' 

" The house seemed then as composed as the senate now is when an impressive 
speech is in the act of delivery. On Washington's entrance the most profound and 
death-like stillness prevailed. House, lobbies, gallery, all were wrapped in the 
deepest attention ; and the souls of that entire assembLngo seemed peering from their 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 491 

eyes on the noble figure which deliberately, and with an unaffected but surpassing 
majesty, advanced up the broad aisle of the hall between ranks of standing senators 
and members, and slowly ascended the steps leading to the speaker's chair. I well 
remember, standing at the head of the senate, the tall, square, somewhat gaunt form 
of Mr. Jefferson; conspicuous from his scarlet waistcoat, bright blue coat, with 
broad bright buttons, as well as by his quick and penetrating air, and high-boned 
Scottish cast of features. There, too, stood General Knox, then secretary of war, 
in all the sleek rotundity of his low stature, with a bold and florid face, open, firm, 
and manly in its expression. But I recollect that my boyish eye was caught by the 
appearance of De Yrujo, the Spanish ambassador. He stood in the rear of the chair, 
a little on one side, covered with a splendid diplomatic dress, decorated with orders, 
and carrying under bis arm an immense chapeau-bras, edged with white ostricli feath- 
ers. He was a man, totally different in his air and manner from all around him, and 
the very antipode especially of the man on whom all eyes but his seemed fixed as by 
a spell. I saw many other very striking figures grouped about and behind the speak- 
er's chair, but I did not know their names, and had no one to ask : besides, I dared 
not open my lips. 

" The president, having seated himself, remained in silence, serenely contemplating 
the legislature before him, whose members now resumed their seats, waiting for the 
speech. No house of worship, in the most solemn pauses of devotion, was ever 
more profoundly still than that large and crowded chamber. 

" Washington was dressed precisely as Stuart has painted him in Lord Landsdowne's 
full-length portrait — in a full suit of the richest black velvet, with diamond knee- 
buckles, and square silver buckles set upon shoes japanned with the most scrupulous 
neatness, black silk stockings, his shirt ruffled at the bi-east and wrists, a light dress 
sword, his hair profusely powdered, fully dressed, so as to project at the sides, and 
gathered behind in a silk bag, ornamented with a large rose of black riband. He 
held his cocked hat, which had a large black cockade on one side of it, in his hand, 
as he advanced toward the chair, and, when seated, laid it on the table. 

"At length, thrusting his hand within the side of his coat, he drew forth a roll of 
manuscript, which he opened, and rising, held it in his hand, while in a rich, deep, 
full, sonorous voice, he read his opening address to Congress. His enunciation was 
deliberate, justly emphasized, very distinct, and accompanied with an air of deep so- 
lemnity, as being the utterance of a mind profoundly impressed with the dignity of 
the act in which it was occupied, conscious of the whole responsibility of its position 
and action, but not oppressed by it. There was ever about the man something which 
impressed the observer with a conviction that he was exactly and fully equal to what 
he had to do. He was never hurried ; never negligent ; but seemed ever prepared 
for the occasion, be it what it might. If I could express his character in one word, 
it would be appropriateness. In his study, in his parlor, at a levee, before Congress, 
at the head of the army, he seemed ever to be just what the situation required him 
to bo. He possessed, in a degree never equalled by any human being I ever saw, 
the strongest, most ever-present sense of propriety. It never forsook him, and deeply 
and involuntarily impressed itself upon every beholder. 

' His address was of moderate length : the topics I have of course forgotten ; in- 



492 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

deed I was not of an ape to appreciate them ; but the air, the manner, the tones, 
have never left my mental vision, and even now seem to vibrate on my ear. 

"A scene like this, once belield, though in earliest youth, is never to be forgotten. 
It must be now fifty years ago, but I could this moment sit down and sketch the 
chamber, the assembly, and the man. 

"Having closed the reading, he laid down the scroll, and, after a brief pause, re- 
tired as he had entered : when the manuscript was handed, for a second reading, to 
Mr. Beckley, then clerk of the house, whose gentlemanly manner, clear and silver 
voice, and sharp articulation I shall ever associate with the scene. When shall we 
again behold such a Congress and such a President?" 

To make the picture of the personal appearance of Washington more complete, I 
add the following from Sullivan's Familiar Letters: — 

" The following are recollections of Washington, derived from repeated opportu- 
nities of seeing him during the last three years of his public life. He was over six 
feet in stature ; of strong, bony, muscular frame, without fulness of covering, well 
formed and straight. He was a man of most extraordinary physical strength. In 
his own house his action was calm, deliberate, and dignified, without pretension to 
gracefulness, or peculiar manner, but merely natural, and such as one would think 
it should be in such a man. His habitual motions had been formed before he took j 
command of the American armies, in the wars of the interior, and in the surveying" \ 
of wilderness lands, employments in which grace and elegance were not likeh to bo 
acquired. At the age of sixty-five, time had done nothing toward bending him out 
of his natural erectness. His deportment was invariably grave ; it was sobriety that 
stopped short of sadness. His presence inspired a veneration and a feeling of awe 
rarely experienced in the presence of any man. His mode of speaking was slow 
and deliberate, not as though he was in search of fine words, but that he might utter 
those only adapted to his purpose. It was the usage of all persons in good society 
to attend Mrs. Washington's levee every Friday evening. He was always present. J 
The young ladies used to throng around him, and engage him in conversation. ■ 
There were some of the well-remembered belles of that day who imagined themselves 
to be favorites with him. As these were the only opportunities which they had of 
conversing with him, they were disposed to use them. One would think that a gen- 
tleman and a gallant soldier, if he could ever laugh or dress his countenance in smiles, 
would do so when surrounded by young and admiring beauties. But this was never 
so ; the countenance of Washington never softened ; nor changed its habitual gravity. 
One who had lived always in his family said, that his manner in public life was al- 
ways the same. Being asked whether Washington could laugh, this person said this 
was a rare occurrence, but one instance was remembered when he laughed most 
heartily at her narration of an incident in which she was a party concerned ; and m 
which he applauded her agency. The late General Cobb, who was long a member 
of his family during the war, and who enjoyed a laugh as much as any man could, 
said that he never saw Washington laugh, excepting when Colonel Scammel (if this 
was the person) came to dine at headquarters. Scammel had a fund of ludicrous 
anecdotes, and a manner of telling them, which relaxed even the gravity of the com- 
mander-in-chief. 



PERSONAL APPEARANCE OF WASHINGTON. 493 

" General Cobb also said that the forms of proceeding at headquarters were exact 
and precise ; orderly and punctual. At the appointed moment, Washington appeared 
at the breakfast-table. He expected to find all the members of his family (Cobb, 
Hamilton, Humphreys were among them) awaiting him. He came dressed for the 
day, and brought with him the letters and despatches of the preceding day, and a short 
memoranda of the answers to be made ; also the substance of orders to be issued 
When breakfast was over, these papers were distributed among his aids, to be pu 
into form. Soon afterward he mounted his horse to visit the troops, and expected to 
find on his return before noon, all the papers prepared for his inspection and signature. 
There was no familiarity in his presence ; it was all sobriety and business. His mode 
of life was abstemious and temperate. He had a decided preference for certain sorts 
of food, probably from early associations. Throughout the war, as it was understood 
in his military family, he gave a part of every day to private prayer and devotion. 

" While he lived in Pliiladelphia, as president, he rose at four in the morning; and 
the general rule of his house was, that the fires should be covered, and the lights ex- 
tinguished at a certain hour; whether this was nine or ten is not recollected. 

" In the early part of his administration, great complaints were made by the op- 
position of the aristocratic and royal demeanor of the president. Mr. Jefferson makes 
some commentaries on this subject, which do no credit to his heart or his head. 
These are too little to be transcribed from the works of this 'great and good man.' 
Dr. Stuart, of Virginia, wrote to him of the dissatisfaction which prevailed on this 
subject in Virginia. In the fifth volume of Marshall, page 164, will be found an ex- 
tract of Washington's vindication of his conduct, and a most satisfactory one, which 
shows the proper character of Mr. Jefferson's 'Anas.' These complaints related, 
in particular, to the manner of receiving such visiters as came from respect or from 
curiosity, of which there were multitudes. The purpose of Washington was, that 
such visiters should accomplish their objects without a sacrifice of time, which he 
considered indispensable to the performance of his public duties. 

" He devoted one hour every other Tuesday, from three to four, to these visits. He 
understood himself to be visited as the president of the United States, and not on his 
own account. He was then to be seen by anybody and everybody; but required that 
every one who came should be introduced by his secretary, or by some gentleman 
whom he knew himself. He lived on the south side of Chestnut street, just below 
Sixth. The place of reception was the dining-room in the rear, twenty-five or thirty 
feet in length, including the bow projecting ihto the garden. Mrs. Washington re- 
ceived visiters in the two rooms on the second floor, from front to rear. 

" At three o'clock, or at any time within a quarter of an hour afterward, the visiter 
was conducted to this dining-room, from which all seats had been removed for the 
time. On entering, he saw the tall figure of Washington clad in black velvet; his 
hair in full dress, powdered and gathered behind in a large silk bag ; yellow gloves 
on his hands ; holding a cocked hat, with a cockade in it, and the edges adorned with 
a black feather about an inch deep. He wore knee and shoe buckles ; and a long 
sword, with a finely-wrought and polished steel hilt, which appeared at the left hip ; 
the coat worn over the blade, and appearing from under the folds behind. The scab- 
bard was white polished leather. 



494 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

" He stood always in front of the fireplace, with his face toward the door of en- 
trance. The visiter was conducted to him, and he required to have the name so dis- 
tinctly pronounced that he could hear it. He had the very uncommon faculty of 
associating; a man's name, and personal appearance, so durably in his memory as to 
be able to call any one by name who made him a second visit. He received his 
visiter with a dignified bow, while his hands were so disposed as to indicate that the 
salutation was not to be accompanied with shaking hands. This ceremony never oc- 
curred in these visits, even with the most near friends, that no distinctions might be 
made. 

" As visiters came in, they formed a circle around the room. At a quarler past 
three the door was closed, and the circle was formed for that day. He then began 
on the right, and spoke to each visiter, calling him by name, and exchanging a few 
words with him. When he had completed his circuit, he resumed his first position, 
and the visiters approached him in succession, bowed, and retired. By four o'clock 
this ceremony was over. 

" On the evenings when Mrs. Washington received visiters, he did not consider 
himself as visited. He was then as a private gentleman, dressed usually in some 
colored coat (the only one recollected was brown, with bright buttons), and black on 
his lower limbs. He had then neither hat nor sword ; he moved about among the 
company, conversing with one and another. He had once a fortnight an official din- 
ner, and select companies on other days. He sat, it is said, at the side, in a central 
position ; Mrs. Washington opposite ; the two ends were occupied by members of 
bis family, or by his personal friends." 



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MARTHA WASHINGTON. 495 



CHAPTER XXVI. 

MARTHA WASHINGTON.* 

Mrs. Washington's Linkage — Her Early Life — Her Marriage to Daniel Parke Cfs- 
TiB — His Father's Ambitious Views — Death of Mk. Custis — Anecdote — A Monet- 

LENPER IN WANT OP A CUSTOMER — FlRST INTERVIEW BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND MrS. 

Custis — Virginia Hospitality — Washington in Love — The Marriage op Washing- 
ton AND Mrs. Custis — Date op the Marriage — Mrs. Washington in Camp — Her Es- 
cort — Death op her Son — The Home at Mount Vernon — Washington made Presi- 
dent OP the United States — Mrs.Washington at the Head op the Presidential Man- 
sion — Family Habits there — Scenes on the National Anniversaries — Attendance 
UPON Divine Service — Old Soldiers at the President's House — Retirement to Mount 
Vernon — Visiters there — Mrs. Washington's Domestic Habits — Washington's Death 
— Disposition op his Remains — Mount Vernon apter his Death — Sickness and Death 
OF Mrs. Washington. 

Martha Dandridge was descended from an ancient 
family, which first migrated to the colony of Virginia, in 
the person of the Reverend Orlando Jones, a clergyman 
of "Wales. She was born in the county of New Kent, 
colony of Virginia, in May, 1732. The education of 
females in the early days of the colonial settlements, was 
almost exclusively of a domestic character, and by in- 
structors who were entertained in the principal families, 
that were too few and too "far between" to admit of the 
establishment of public schools. 

Of the early life of Miss Dandridge, we are only able 
to record, that the young lady excelled in personal 
charms, which, with pleasing manners, and a general 
amiability of demeanor, caused her to be distinguished 

* This was first written for, and published in, the J- nfrican Portrait Gallery. 



I 



496 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

amid the fair ones who usually assembled at the court 
of Williamsburg, then held by the royal governors of 
Virginia. 

At seventeen years of age (in 1749), Miss Dandridge 
was married to Colonel Daniel Parke Custis, of the White 
House, county of New Kent. This was a match of affec- 
tion. The father of the bridegroom, the Honorable John 
Custis, of Arlington, a king's counsellor, had matrimonial 
views of a more ambitious character for his only son and 
heir, and was desirous of a connection with the Byrd 
family, of Westover, Colonel Byrd being, at that time, 
from his influence and vast possessions, almost a count 
palatine of Virginia.* 1 1 

The counsellor having at length given his consent to I 
the marriage of his son with Miss Dandridge, they were ' 
married. They settled at the White House, on the banks 
of the Paumunkey river, where Colonel Custis became 
an eminently successful planter. The fruits of this mar- 
riage were, a girl, who died in infancy, and Daniel, Mar- 
tha, and John. Daniel was a child of much promise, and 
it was generally believed, that his untimely death hasten- 
ed his fother to the grave. Martha arrived at woman- 
hood, and died at Mount Vernon, in 1773 ;f and John, | 
the father of the biographer, perished while in the 
service of his country, and the suite of the commander- 

* Seepage 18. 

t See pa{,-c 21. We have observed that this daughter was very delicate in health, 
from early childhood. Everything that affection and ample means could afford for 
the preservation of licr health, were employed. Among Washington's accounts of 
expenditures in her behalf, is one on a single half-sheet of foolscap, which shows how 
carefully he made his memoranda. We give a facsimUe of it. It will be seen 
that Washington took none of tlie responsibility of incurring the expense of a jour- 
ney to the medicinal springs and buck. IIo notes in the prcfiice to the account, 
that the journey was undertaken by the advice of the physician. 



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MARTHA WASHINGTON. 497 

in-clilef, at the siege of Yorktown, 1781, aged twenty- 
seven. 

On the decease of her husband, which happened at 
about middle age, Mrs. Custis found herself at once a 
very young, and among the very wealthiest widows in 
the colony. Independently of extensive and valuable 
landed estates, the colonel left thirty thousand pounds 
sterling in money, with half that amount to his only 
daughter, Martha. It is related of this amiable gentle- 
man, that, when on his death-bed, he sent for a tenant, to 
whom, in settling an account, he was due oiie shilling. 
The tenant begged that the colonel, who had ever been 
most kind to his tenantry, would not trouble himself at 
all about such a trifle, as he, the tenant, had forgotten it 
long ago. " But I have not," rejoined the just and con- 
scientious landlord, and bidding his creditor take up the 
coin, which had been purposely placed on his pillow, ex- 
claimed, "Now, my accounts are all closed with this 
world," and shortly after expired. Mrs. Custis, as sole 
executrix, managed the extensive landed and pecuniary 
concerns of the estates with surprising ability, making 
loans, on mortgage, of moneys, and, through her stew- 
ards and agents, conducting the sales or exportation of 
the crops, to the best possible advantage.* 

* On the death of her husband, Mrs. Custis employed her young friend, of James 
City, Robert Carter Nicholas, as legal adviser in the settlement of the estate. Mr. 
Nicholas was then just rising in his profession, and soon became one of the brightest 
lawyers in a galaxy, such as Virginia has never since possessed. Afterward, as a 
legislator and true patriot, he took a foremost part in the concerns of his native 
commonwealth, and was particularly conspicuous in the Virginia convention of 
1775. The following letters, from Mr. Nicholas and Mr. Waller, relate to the busi- 
ness of Mrs. Custis's estate : — 

"Williamsburg, 7th August, 1757. 

" Madam : It gave me no small pkajlire to hear with how great Christian pa- 
tience and resignation you submitted tayour late misfortune ; the example is rare, 

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498 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

While on the subject of the moneyed concerns of sev- 
enty years ago, we hope to be pardoned for a brief di- 
gression. The orchard of fine apple-trees is yet standing 
near Bladensburg, that was presented to Mr. Ross, by 

though a duty incumbent upon us all ; and tliercfore I can not help esteeming it a 
peculiar happiness whenever I meet with it. My late worthy friend, from a very 
short acquaintance with him, had gained a great share of my esteem, which would 
have naturally continued towards his family, had I been an utter stranger to them. 
How greatly this is increased by the pleasure of even a slight acquaintance with you, 
I shall leave it to time to evince, as it might savor of flattery, were I to attempt the 
expression of it. When your brother was with me, I was indisposed, and therefore 
could not conveniently comply with your request, in writing my opinion upon the 
several matters he proposed. As it will be absolutely necessary that some person 
should, administer upon the estate, and no one appears so proper as yourself, I 
would recommend it to you, and that so soon as it may be done with convenience. 
I dare say your friends will endeavor to ease you of as much trouble as they can ; 
and since you seem to place some confidence in me, I do sincerely profess myself to 
be of that number. I imagine you will find it necessary to employ a trusty steward ; 
and as the estate is large and very extensive, it is Mr. Waller's and my own opinion, 
that you had better not engage with any but a very able man, though he should re- 1 
quire large wages. Nothing appears to us very material to be done immediately, • 
except what relates to your tobacco ; if is not already done, it will be necessary that 
letters should be wrote for insurance, and that we, or some other of your friends, 
should be acquainted with the quantities of tobacco put on board each ship, that we| 
may get the proper bills of lading. If you desire it, we will cheerfully go up to 
assist in sorting your papers, forming invoices, etc., and in any other instance that 
you think I can serve you, I beg that you will freely and without any reserve com-i 
mand me. I congratulate you upon your little boy's late recovery, and am, madam,! 
" Your hearty well-wisher and obedient humble servant, I 

' Robert C. Nicholas." 
Three weeks later, Mr. Waller, mentioned by Mr. Nicholas, wrote to Mrs. Custis 
as follows : — 

" Madam . I am at a loss in drawing your power of attorney for receiving the 
interest or dividends of your bank stock. I had formerly a printed form which I 
am pretty sure I gave to Mr. Power, to draw one by for the late colonel. Mr. 
Lyons says he remembers it, and that he believes Mr. Power gave it to the 
colonel ; and so amongst us it is lost. I send you a general power of attorney, 
which you may execute before some persons going to Great Britain, and send it by 
this fleet ; it may possibly be of service till they send you a letter. It will be prop- 
er for you to get letters of administration from your clerk, to send them here for 
the governor's name, and seal of the colony (all of which you may have for the fees 
already charged you), and to send them with the power to Messrs. Carey and Co.; 
and des're them to send you, in proper forms and directions, what to do concerning the 



■II 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 499 

the father of the late venerated Charles Carroll, of 
Carrollton, as a recompense for Mr. Koss having intro- 
duced to Mr. Carroll a good borrower of his money. A 
Colonel T., one of the ancient dons of Maryland, being 
observed riding over the race-course of Annapolis in a 
very disturbed and anxious manner, was accosted by his 
friends with a " What 's the matter, colonel ? Are you 
alarmed for the success of your filly, about to start?" 
" Oh, no," replied T., " but I have a thousand pounds by 
me to loan, and here have I been riding about the course 
the whole morning, and not a single borrower can I get 
for my money." We opine that the same anxieties would 
not be long suffered now. 

It was in 1758, that an officer, attired in a military 
undress, and attended by a body-servant, tall and mili- 
taire as his chief, crossed the ferry called Williams's, over 
the Pamunkey, a branch of the York river. On the boat 
touching the southern or New Kent side, the soldier's 
progress was arrested by one of those personages, who 
give the beau ideal of the Virginia gentleman of the old 
regime, the very soul of kindliness and hospitality. It 
was in vain the soldier urged his business at Williams- 
burg, important communications to the governor, etc. 
Mr. Chamberlayne, on whose domain the miUtcdre had 
just landed, would hear of no excuse. Colonel Washing- 
ton (for the soldier was he) was a name and character so 

bank stock another year. I return the letters relating to Dunbar's appeal, which 
very probably received a determination before the colonel's death. I know not 
vhat further you can do than advise Mr. Gary and Mr. Hanbury of the time he died, 
to desire them to continue their case in that affair, and to instruct you what your 
solicitor thinks needful for you to do. In all these cases they will preserve their 
own forms and methods. My wife tenders you her best respects, and I am, madam, 

" Your most obedient servant, 
" Williamsburg, August 30th, 1757." "Ben. Waller." 



500 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

dear to all the Virginians, that his passing by one of the 
old castles of the commonwealth, without calling and 
partaking of the hospitalities of the host, was entirely 
out of the question. The colonel, however, did not sur- 
render at discretion, but stoutly maintained his ground, 
till Chamberlayne bringing up his reserve, in the intima- 
tion than he would introduce his friend to a young and 
charming widow, then beneath his roof, the soldier capit- 
ulated, on condition that he should dine, " only dine," 
and then, by pressing his charger and borrowing of the 
night, he would reach Williamsburg before his excel- 
lency could shake off his morning slumbers. Orders 
were accordingly issued to Bishop, the colonel's body-i 
servant and faithful follower, who, together with the fine ] 
English charger, had been bequeathed by the dying 
Braddock to Major Washington, on the famed and fatal 
field of the Monongahela. Bishop, bred in the school of 
European discipline, raised his hand to his cap, as much 
as to say, "your honor's orders shall be obeyed." 

The colonel now proceeded to the mansion, and was 
introduced to various guests (for when was a Virginian 
domicil of the olden time without guests ?), and above 
all, to the charming widow. Tradition relates that they 
were mutually pleased on this their first interview, nor 
is it remarkable ; they were of an age when impressions 
are strongest. The ladj- was fair to behold, of fascinating 
manners, and splendidly endowed with worldly benefits. 
The hero, fresh from his early fields, redolent of fame, 
and with a form on which " every god did seem to set 
his seal, to give the world assurance of a man." 

The morning passed pleasantly away. Evening came, 
with Bishop, true to his orders and firm at his post, held- 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 501 

I y his favorite charger with one hand, while the other 
was waiting to offer the ready stirrup. The sun sank in 
the horizon, and yet the colonel appeared not. And then 
the old soldier marvelled at his chief's delay. " ' Twas 
strange, 'twas passing strange" — surely he was not wont 
to be a single moment behind his appointments, for. he 
was the most punctual of all men. Meantime, the host 
enjoyed the scene of the veteran on duty at the gate, 
while the colonel was so agreeably employed in the par- 
lor ; and proclaiming that no guest ever left his house 
after sunset, his military visiter was, without much diffi- 
culty, persuaded to order Bishop to put up the horses for 
the night. The sun rode high in the heavens the en- 
suing day, when the enamored soldier pressed with his 
spur his charger's side, and speeded on his way to the 
seat of government, where, having despatched his public 
business, he retraced his steps, and, at the White House, 
the engagement took place, with preparations for the 
marriage. 

And much hath the biographer heard of that marriage, 
from gray-haired domestics, who waited at the board 
where love made the feast and Washington was the 
guest. And rare and high was the revelry, at that 
palmy period of Virginia's festal age ; for many were 
gathered to that marriage, of the good, the great, the 
gifted, and the gay, while Virginia, with joyous accla- 
mation hailed in her youthful hero a prosperous and 
happy bridegroom. 

"And so you remember when Colonel Washington 
came a courting of your mistress ?" said the biograjDher 
to old Cully, in his hundredth year. " Ay, master, that 
J do," replied this ancient family servant, who had lived 



502 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

to see five generations ; " great times, sir, great times ! 
Shall never see the like again!" — ^"And Washington 
looked something like a man, a proper man; he}^, 
Cully?" — "Never see'd the like, sir; never the likes 
of him, tho' I have seen many in my day ; so tall, so 
straight! and then he sat a horse and rode with such 
an air ! Ah, sir ; he was like no one else ! Many of 
the grandest gentlemen, in their gold lace, were at the 
wedding, but none looked like the man himself!" 
Strong, indeed, must have been the impressions which 
the person and manner of Washington made upon the 
rude, "untutored mind" of this poor negro, since the 
lapse of three quarters of a century had not sufficed 
to efface them. 

The precise date of the marriage the biographer has 
been unable to discover, having in vain searched among 
the records of the vestry of St. Peter's church. New 
Kent, of which the Reverend Mr. Mossom, a Cambridge 
scholar, was the rector, and performed the ceremony, it I 
is believed, about 1759.* A short time after their mar- 

* Mr. S])arks, whose sources of information have been more ample than all 
others, says the inarria;^e took place on the sixth of January, 1759. Mrs. Bache, 
daughter of Doctor Franklin, in a letter to her father, written in January, 1779, 
says, " I have lately been several times invited abroad with the general and Mrs. 
Washington. He always inquires after you, in the most affectionate manner, and 
speaks of you highly. We danced at Mrs. Powell's on your birthday, or night, 1 
shiiuld say, in company together, and he told me it was the anniversary of his mar- 
riage ; it was just twenty years that night." 

Franklin's birthday was the senenteenth of January. The apparent discrepancy 
in the statements of Mrs. Bache and Mr. Sparks, is easily reconcilable, by suppo- 
sing the date given by the latter to be Old Style. There being eleven days differ- 
ence between the two stylos, so called, the sixth, Old Style, would be the seventeenth, 
New Style. 

Reverend David Mossom was rector of New Kent parish for forty years. Bishop 
Meade, in illustration of the condition of church matters in tliat parish, during the 
earlier years of Mr. Mossoin's rectorship, says that, on one occasion, the rector and 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 503 

riage, Colonel and Mrs. Washington removed to Mount 
Yernon, on the Potomac, and permanently settled there. 

The mansion of Mount Yernon, more than seventy 
years ago, was a very small building, compared with its 
present extent, and the numerous out-buildings attached 
to it. The mansion-house consisted of four rooms on a 
floor, forming the centre of the present building, and 
remained pretty much in that state up to 1774, when 
Colonel Washington repaired to the first Congress, in 
Philadelphia, and from thence to the command-in-chief 
of the armies of his country, assembled before Cam- 
bridge, July, 1775. The commander-in-chief returned 
no more to reside at Mount Yernon till after the peace 
of 1783. Mrs., or Lady Washington, as we shall now 
call her (such being the appellation she always bore in 
the army), accompanied the general to the lines before 
Boston, and witnessed its siege and evacuation. She 
then returned to Yirginia, the subsequent campaigns 
being of too momentous a character to allow of her 
accompanying the army.* 

At the close of each campaign, an aid-de-camp 

his clerk had a quarrel, and the former assailed the latter in a sermon. In those 

days, it was the duty of the clerk to " give out " the psalm. On the occasion in 

question the clerk, after receiving the pulpit assault from Mr. Mossom, read, in 

revenge, the psalm, in which occurs the following verse : — 

" With restless and ungoverned rage, 

Why do the heathen storm 1 

Why in such rash attempts engage, 

As they can ne'er perform V 

Mr. Mossom was married four times. His last nuptials were celebrated in Jan- 
uary, 175.5, in his own church. His bride was Elizabeth Masters, a widow. 

* Mrs. Washington did not return to Virginia until the close of August, 1776. 
A letter, written by her to her sister, Mrs. Bassett, of Eltham, and dated at Phila- 
delphia, on the twentieth of that month, is published in the Historical Magazine, 
volume ii., page 135 ; 1858. 



504 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

repaired to Mount Vernon, to escort the lady to head- 
quarters. The arrival of Lady Washington at camp 
was an event much anticipated, and was always the 
signal for the ladies of the general officers to repair to 
the bosoms of their lords. The arrival of the aid-de- 
camp, escorting the plain chariot, with the neat postil- 
lions, in their scarlet and white liveries, was deemed an 
epoch in the army, and served to diffuse a cheering 
influence amid the gloom which hung over our destinies 
at Valley Forge, MorristoAvn, and West Point. Lady 
Washington always remained at the headquarters till 
the opening of the campaign ; and she often remarked, in 
after life, that it had been her fortune to hear the first 
cannon at the opening, and the last at the closing, of all 
the campaigns of the Revolutionary war. 

During the whole of that mighty period, when we 
struggled for independence. Lady Washington pre-! 
served her equanimity, together with a degree of cheer- f 
fulness that inspired all around her with the brightest J 
hopes for our ultimate success. To her, alone, a heavy 
cloud of sorrow hung over the conclusion of the glorious i 
campaign of 1781. Her only child/-' while attending to ' 
his duties, as aid-de-camp to the general-in-chief, during 
the siege of Yorktown, was seized with an attack of the 
camp-fever, then raging to a frightful extent within the 
enemy's intrenchments. Ardently attached to the cause 
of his country, having witnessed many of the most 
important events of the Revolutionary contest, from the 
siege of Boston, in 1775-6, to the virtual termination of 
the war, in 1781, the sufferer beheld the surrender of 
the British army, on the memorable nineteenth of Octo* 

* John Parke Castis. 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 505 

ber, and was thence removed to Eltham, in New Kent, 
where he was attended by Doctor Craik, chief of the 
medical staff 

Washington, learning the extreme danger of his step- 
son, to whom he was greatly attached, privately left the 
capip before Yorktown, while yet it rang with the 
shouts of victory, and, attended by a single officer, rode 
with all speed to Eltham. It was just day-dawn when 
the commander-in-chief sprang from his panting charger, 
and, summoning Doctor Craik to his presence, inquired 
if there was any hope. Craik shook his head, when the 
chief, being shown into a private room, threw himself 
upon a bed, absorbed in grief The poor sufferer, being 
in his last agonies, soon after expired. The general re- 
mained for some time closeted with his lady, then re- 
mounted and returned to the camp. 

It was after the peace of 1783, that General Washing- 
ton set in earnest about the improvements in building 
and laying off the gardens and grounds that now adorn 
Mount Vernon. He continued in these gratifying em- 
ployments, occasionally diversified by the pleasures of 
the chase, till 1787, when he was called to preside in the 
convention that formed the present federal constitution ; 
and in 1789 he left his beloved retirement to assume the 
duties of the chief magistracy of the Union. 

Durinsr the residence of General and Mrs. Washino-ton 
at Mount Vernon, after the peace of 1783, the ancient 
mansion, always the seat of hospitality, was crowded with 
guests. The officers of the French and American armies, 
with many strangers of distinction, hastened to pay their 
respects to the victorious general, now merged into the 
illustrious farmer of Mount Vernon. During these stir- 



506 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASIflNGTON. 

ring times, Mrs. Washington perforaied the duties of a 
Virginia housewife, and presided at her well-spread board, 
with that ease and elegance of manners which always 
distinguished her. At length the period arrived when 
General and Mrs. Washington were to leave the de- 
lights of retirement, and to enter upon new and elevated 
scenes of life. The unanimous voice of his country hail- 
ed the hero who had so lately led her armies to victory, 
as the chief magistrate of the young empu-e about to 
dawn upon the world. 

The president and his lady bade adieu with extreme re- . 
gret to the tranquil and happy shades, where a few years 
of repose had, in a great measure, effaced the effects of 
the toils and anxieties of war ; where a little Eden had I 
bloomed and flourished under their fostering hands ; and 
where a numerous circle of friends and relatives w^ould 
sensibly feel the privation of their departure. They de- 
parted, and hastened to where duty called the man of his 
country. 

The journey to New York, in 1789, was a continued 
triumph. The august spectacle at the bridge of Trenton 
brought tears to the eyes of the chief, and forms one of 
the most brilliant recollections of the age of Washington.* 

Arrived at the seat of the federal government, the 
president and Mrs. Washington found their establish- 
ment upon a scale that, while it partook of all the attri- 
butes of our republican institutions, possessed at the same 
time that degree of dignity and regard for appearances, 
so necessary to give to our infant republic, respect in the 
eyes of the world. The house was handsomely furnish- 
ed ; the equipages neat, with horses of the first order ; 

* See note on pa^o 393. 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 507 

the servants wore the family liveries ; and, with the 
exception of a steward and housekeeper, the whole es- 
tablishment differed but little from that of a private gen- 
tlemen. On Tuesdays, from three to four o'clock, the 
president received the foreign ambassadors and strangers 
who wished to be introduced to him. On these occa- 
sions, and when opening the sessions of Congress, the 
president wore a dress-sword. His personal apparel was 
always remarkable for its being old-fashioned, and ex- 
ceedingly plain and neat. On Thursdays were the con- 
gressional dinners, and on Friday nights, Mrs. Washing- 
ton's drawing-room. The company usually assembled 
about seven, and rarely staid after ten o'clock. The 
ladies were seated, and the president passed around the 
circle, paying his compliments to each. At the drawing- 
rooms, Mrs. Morris always sat at the right of the lady- 
president, and at all the dinners, public or private, at 
which Eobert Morris was a guest, that venerable man 
was placed at the right of Mrs. Washington. When 
ladies called at the president's mansion, the habit was for 
the secretaries and gentlemen of the president's house- 
hold to hand them to and from their carriages; but 
when the honored relicts of Greene and Montgomery 
came to the presidoliad, the president himself performed 
these complimentary duties. 

On the anniversaries of the great national festivals of 
the fourth of July and twenty-second of February, the 
sages of the Revolutionary Congress and the officers of 
the Revolutionary army renewed their acquaintance 
with Mrs. Washington. Many and kindly greetings 
then took place, with many a recollection of the days of 
trial. The Cincinnati, after paying their respects to their 



608 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

chief, were seen to file off toward the parlor, where Lady 
Washington was in waiting to receive them, and where 
Wayne, and Mifflin, and Dickenson, and Stewart, and 
Mo3^1an, and Hartley, and a host of veterans, were cor- 
dially welcomed as old friends, and where many an in- 
teresting reminiscence was called up, of the headquarters 
and the " times of the Revolution." 

On Sundays, unless the weather was uncommonly 
severe, the president and Mrs. Washington attended divine | 
service at Christ church f and in the evenings, the pres-f 
ident read to Mrs. Washington, in her chamber, a sermon, j 
or some portion from the sacred writings. No visiters,! 
with the exception of Mr. Speaker Trumbull, were ad-j 
mitted to the presidoliad on Sundays. 

There was one description of visiters, however, to be 
found about the first president's mansion on all days: 
The old soldiers repaired, as they said, to headquarters, 
just to inquire after the health of his excellency and 
Lady Washington. They knew his excellency was of 
course much engaged ; but they would like to see tho 
good lady. One had been a soldier of the Life-Guard; 
another had been on duty when the British threatened 
to surprise the headquarters ; a third had witnessed that 
terrible fellow, Cornwallis, surrender his sword ; each one 
had some touching appeal, with which to introduce him- 
self to the peaceful headquarters of the presidoliad. All 
were " kindly bid to stay," were conducted to the stew- 

* In Philadelphia. They attended St. Paul's church, when in New York, in 
which two pews were expressly prepared, one for the president and his family, and 
the other for tlie governor of the state of New York and his family — the city of New 
York then being the state cajiital. Tlie pews have since been changed, but the old 
paintings over each still remain. Washington, according to his diary, attended di- 
vine service in the morning, and occupied the afternoon in writing private letters. 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 509 

ard's apartments, and refreshments set before them ; and 
after receiving some httle token from the ladj, with her 
best wishes for the health and happiness of an old soldier, 
thej went their ways, while blessings upon their revered 
commander and the good Lady Washington, were uttered 
by many a war-worn veteran of the Revolution. 

In the spring of 1797, General and Mrs. Washington, 
bidding adieu to public life, took their leave of the seat 
of government and. journeyed to the South, prepared in 
good earnest to spend the remnant of their days in their 
beloved retirement of Mount Vernon. The general re- 
sumed Avith delight his agricultural employments, while 
the lady bustled again amid her domestic concerns, show- 
ing that neither time nor her late elevated station had in 
any wise impaired her qualifications for a Virginia house- 
wife ; and she was now verging wpon threescore and ten. 

But for Washington to be retired at Mount Vernon, or 
anywhere else, was out of the question. Crowds which 
had hailed the victorious general as the deliverer of his 
country, and called him with acclamation to the chief 
magistracy of the infant empire, now pressed to his re- 
tirement, to offer their love and admiration to the illus- 
trious farmer of Mount Vernon. 

Mrs. Washington was an uncommon early riser, leav- 
ing her pillow at day-dawn at all seasons of the year, 
and becoming at once actively engaged in her household 
duties. After breakfast she retired for an hour to her 
chamber, which hour was spent in prayer and reading 
the Holy Scriptures, a practice that she never omitted 
during half a century of her varied life.* 

* Mrs. Carrington, wife of Colonel Edward Carrington, who, with her husband, 
visited the family at Mount Vernon a little while before General Washington's 



510 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Two years had passed happily at Mount Yernon ; for 
although the general, yielding to the claims of his coun- 
try, had again accepted the command-in-chief of lier 
armies, yet he had stipulated with government that he 
should not leave his retirement, unless upon the actual 
invasion of an enemy. It was while engaged in projeci- 
ing new and ornamental improvements in his grounds, 
that the fiat of the Almighty went forth, calling the be- 
ing, the measure of whose earthly fame was filled to 
overflowing, to his great reward in a higher and better 
world. The illness was short and severe. Mrs. Wash- 
inscton left not the chamber of the sufferer, but was seen 
kneeling at the bedside, her head resting upon her Bil)le, 
which had been her solace in the many and heavy afflic- 
tions she had undergone. Dr. Craik, the early friend 
and companion-in-arms of the chief, replaced the hand, 
which was almost pulseless, upon the pillow, while he 
turned away to conceal the tears that fast chased each 
other down his furrowed cheeks. The last effort of the 
expiring Washington was worthy of the Roman fame of 
his life and character. He raised himself up, and casting 
a look of benignity on all around him, as if to thank 

death, wrote to her sister as follows, concerning Mrs. Washington : " Let us repair 
to the old lady's room, which is precisely in the style of our good old aunt's — that 
is to say, nicely fixed for all sorts of work. On one side sits the chambermaid, with 
her knitting ; on the other, a little colored pet, learning to sew. An old decent 
woman is there, with her table and shears, cutting out the negroes' winter clothes, 
while the good old lady directs them all, incessantly knitting herself. She points 
out to me several pair of nice colored stockings and gloves she had just finished, 
and presents me with a pair half done, which she begs I will finish and wear for her 
sake."— See Bishop Meade's Old Churches and Families of Virijinia, i. 98. Such is 
the picture of the wealthy and honored wife of Washington in the privacy of her 
home. What an example of industry and economy for the wives and daughters o! 
America ! Mrs. Wa-shington always spoke of the days of her public life at New 
York and Thiladelphia, as her " lost days." 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 511 

tliem for their kindly attentions, he composed his limbs, 
closed his eyes, and folding his arms upon his bosom, the 
Father of his Country expired, gentle as though an in- 
fant died ! 

The afflicted relict could with difficulty be removed 
from the chamber of death, to which she returned no 
more, but occupied other apartments for the residue of 
her days. 

By an arrangement with government, Mrs. Washing- 
ton consented to yield the remains of the chief to the 
prayer of the nation, as expressed through its represen- 
tatives in Congress, conditioning that at her decease, her 
own remains should accompany those of her husband to 
the capitol. 

When the burst of grief which followed the death of 
the Paier Patrice had a little subsided, visits of condol- 
ence to the bereaved lady were made by the first per- 
sonages of the land. The president of the United States 
with many other distinguished individuals, repaired to 
Mount Vernon ; while letters, addresses, funeral orations, 
and all the tokens of sorrow and respect, loaded the mails 
from every quarter of the country, offering the sublime 
tribute of a nation's mourning for a nation's benefactor.==' 

* The following letter to Mrs. Washington, from the Earl of Buchan, brother of 
Lord Erskine, was found among that lady's papers, after her death, by her grand- 
daughter, Mrs. Lawrence Lewis : — 

"Dryburgh Abbey, January 28th, 1800. 

" Madam : I have this day received from my brother in London the afflicting 
tidings of the death of your admired husband, my revered kinsman and friend. I 
am not afraid, even under this sudden and unexpected stroke of Divine Providence, 
to give vent to the immediate reflections excited by it, because my attachment to 
your illustrious consort was the pure result of reason, reflection, and congeniality of 
sentiment. He was one of those whom the Almighty in successive ages has chosen 
or raised up to promote the ultimate designs of his goodness and mercy, in the 
gradual melioration of his creatures, and the coming of his kingdom which is in 
heaven. It may be said of that great and good man who has been taken from 



512 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASinNGTON. 

Although the great sun of attraction had sunk in the 
west, still the radiance shed hy his illustrious life and 

among us, what was written by Tacitus concerning his father-in-law, Agricola : 
' Though he was snatched away whilst his age was unbroken by infirmity or dimmed 
by bodily decay, so that if his life be measured by his glory, he attained a mighty 
length of days : forming true felicity, namely, such as arise from virtue, he had 
already enjoyed to the full. As he had likewise held the supreme authority of the 
state, with the confidence and applause of all wise and good men from every part of 
the world, as well as among those he governed, and had enjoyed triumphal honors in 
a war undertaken for the defense of the unalienable rights of mankind, what more, 
humanly speaking, could fortune add to his lustre and renown.' 

" After enormous wealth he sought not ; an honorable share he possessed, liis 
course he finished in the peaceful retreat of his own election, in the arms of a dutiful 
and affectionate wife, and bedewed with the tears of surrounding relatives and friends 
with the unspeakably superior advantage to that of the Roman general, in the hopes 
afforded by the gospel of pardoning peace. He therefore, madam, to continue my paral- 
lel, maybe accounted singularly happy, since by dying, according to his own Christian 
and humble wish, expressed on many occasions, whilst his credit was nowise im- 
paired, his fame in its full splendor, his relations and friends, not only in a state of 
comfort and security, but of honor, he has escaped many evils incident to declining 
years. Moreover, he saw the government of his country in hands conformable with 
our joint wishes, and to the safety of the nations, and a contingent succession open- 
ing not less favorable to the liberties and happiness of the people. 

" Considering my uniform regard for the American states manifested long before 
their forming a separate nation, I may be classed, as it were, among their citizens, 
especially as I have come of a worthy ancestor. Lord Cardross, who found refuge 
there in the last century, and had large property in Carolina, where Port Royal is 
now situated. I hope it will not be thought impertinent or officious, if I recom- 
mend to that country and nation at large, the constant remembrance of the moral 
and political maxims conveyed to its citizens by the Father and founder of the United 
States, in his Farewell Address, and in that speech which he made to the senate 
and house of representatives, when the last hand was put to the formation of the 
Federal Constitution ; and may it he perpetual. It seems to me that such maxims 
and such advice ought to be engraven on every forum or place of common assembly 
among the people, and read by parents, teachers, and guardians to their children 
and pupils, so that true religion and virtue, its inseparable attendant, may be im- 
bibed by the rising generation to remotest ages, and the foundations of national 
policy be laid and continued in the superstructure, in the pure and immutable prin- 
ciples of private moralitity ; since there is no truth more thoroughly established than 
that there exists in the economy and course of Nature, an indissoluble union between 
virtue and happiness, between duty and happiness, between duty and advantage, 
between the genuine maxims of an honest and magnanimous people, and the soM 
rewards of public prosperity and felicity ; since we ought to be no less persuaded 
that the projiitious smiles of Heaven can never be expected on a nation that dis- 



I 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 513 

actions drew crowds of pilgrims to his tomb. The estab- 
lishment of Mount Vernon was kept up to its former 
standard, and the lady presided with her wonted ease 
and dignity bf manner, at her hospitable board. She 
relaxed not in her attentions to her domestic concerns, 
performing the arduous duties of the mistress of so ex- 
tensive an establishment, although in the sixty-ninth" 
year of her age, and evidently suffering in her spirits, 
from the heavy bereavement she had so lately sustained. 
In little more than two years from the demise of the 
chief, Mrs. Washington became alarmingly ill from an 
attack of bilious fever. From her advanced age, the 
sorrow that had preyed upon her spirits, and the severity 
of the attack, the family physicians gave but little hope 
of a favorable issue. The lady herself was perfectly 
aware that her hour was nigh ; she assembled her grand- 
children at her bedside, discoursed to them on their 
respective duties through life, spoke of the happy in- 
fluences of religion upon the aflfliirs of this world, of the 
consolations they had afforded her in many and trying 
afflictions, and of the hopes they held out of a blessed 
immortality ; and then surrounded by her weeping rela- 
tives, friends, and domestics, the venerable relict of 
"Washington resigned her life into the hands of her Crea- 
tor, in the seventy-first year of her age.* 

regards the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained ; and 
since the preservation of the sacred fire of liberty and the destiny of the republican 
model of government are justly considered as deeply, perhaps finally, staked on 
the experiment entrusted to the hands of the American people. 

" Lady Buchan joins with me in the most sincerely respectful good wishes. I am, 
madam, with sincere esteem, your obedient and faithful humble servant. 

" Buchan." 

* The following notice of the death of Mrs. Washington appeared in the Port 
Folio, June 5, 1 802 : — 

33 



514 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Agreeably to her directions her remains were placed 
in a leaden coffin, and entombed by the side of those of 
the chief, to await the pleasure of the government. 

In person, Mrs. Washington was well-formed, and ^ 
somewhat below the middle size. To judge from her 
portrait at Arlington House, jDainted by Woolaston, in 
► 1757, when she was in the bloom of life, she must at 
that period have been eminently handsome. In her 
dress, though plain, she was so scrupulously neat, that 
ladies have often wondered how Mrs. Washington could 
wear a gown for a week, go through her kitchen and 
laundries, and all the varieties of places in the routine of J 
domestic management, and yet the gown retained itsi 
snow-like whiteness, unsullied by even a single speck. 
In her conduct to her servants, her discipline was prompt, 
yet humane, and her household was remarkable for the 
excellence of its domestics. 

Our filial task is done. Few females have ever 
figured in the great drama of life, amid scenes so varied 
and imposing, with so few faults and so many virtues, as 
the subject of this brief memoir. Identified with the J 
Father of his Country, in the great events which led to 
the establishment of a nation's independence, Mrs. 
Washington necessarily partook much of his thoughts, 
his councils, and his views. Often at his side, in that 
awful period that " tried men's souls," her cheerfulness 
soothed his anxieties, her firmness inspired confidence, 
while her devotional piety toward the Supreme Being 

" Died at Mount Vernon, on Saturday evening, tlie 22d of May, 1802, Mrs. 
Martha Washington, widow of the late illustrious General George Washington. To 
t'la^c amiable and Christian virtues which adorn the female character, she added 
dignity of manners, superiority of understanding, a mind intelligent and elevated. 
The silence of respectful grief is our best eulogy." 



I 



MARTHA WASHINGTON. 515 

enabled her to discern the beautiful form of hope, amid 
the darkness occasioned by the greatest earthly grief 

After a long life abounding in vicissitudes, having a 
full measure of sorrows, but with many and high enjoy- 
ments, the venerable Martha Washington descended to 
the grave, cheered by the prospect of a blessed immor- 
tality, and mourned by the millions of a mighty empire. 



RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 

PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON* 

A Good Portrait of ■Washington desirable — American Artists competent to perform 
TUB Task — Four original Pictures at Arlington House — Portraits by Pbale, Hocdon, 
Marchioness de Brienne, and Sharpless — The earliest Picture — Charles Willson 
Peale — Portrait OF Greene at Valley Forge — Washinqton's great Strength — Trum- 
bull's equestrian Portrait — Washington's Teeth — Stuart and his Portraits — Cray- 
on BY Williams — Portraits by Charles Willson Peale and his son Efjubeandt — Thb 
Sharpless Picture at Arlington House — Cerracchi's Bust — Washington's Figure — 
Westmuller's Picture — Washington's Size and Weight ^Peculiar Form of his Trunk 
— Lafayette to Trumbull — What shall the standard Portrait be. 

It is assuredly both desirable and proper that there 
should belong to the American people, and descend to 
their posterity, a faithful portraiture of their Washington. 
They have in their own country all the materials requi- 
site and necessary for such a work ; nor need they to go 
abroad to ensure its most happy execution — they having 
artistic genius and skill of the highest order at home. 

Of original pictures, there are four at Arlington House. 
The most ancient, and the only one extant of the hero 
at that time of day, is the w^ork of the elder Peale.f It 
was painted in 1772, full size and three-quarter length; 
representing the provincial colonel in the colonial uni- 
form — blue, with scarlet facings, silve^r lace, and scarlet 

* Thi8 chapter is composed of two, the last published in the National Intel! i'(jencei 
in 1855. 

t Charles Willson Peale. He was at Mount Vernon in May, 1772, at which time 
he also painted a portrait, in miniature, of Mrs. Washington, for her son, Johtt 
Parke Custis. 



PORTRAITS OF AVASHINGTON. 517 

under-clothes, with sash and gorget, and the hat usually 
called the Wolfe hat, which, from its size and shape, must 
have been better suited for service in a forest warfare 
than would be the chapeaiix of modern times. This is a 
fine, expressive picture, and said by his contemporaries, 
to be the Washington in the prime of life — the counte- 
nance open and manly, the mild blue eye, the whole 
bespeaking intelligence, the dominion of lofty feelings, 
and the passions at rest. 

It will be remembered that 1772 was the year of the 
remarkable Indian prophecy.* 

This splendid and most interesting picture formed the 
principal ornament of the parlor at Mount Vernon for 
twenty-seven years, and for the truth of its resemblance 
to the Washington of colonial times. Dr. James Craik 
was frequently applied to, who pronounced it to be a 
faithful likeness of the provincial colonel in the prime of 
life. The venerable James Craik, it is well known, was 
the associate and bosom friend of the chief, from 1754 to 
the last days at Mount Vernon.f 

Next in the order of originals, at Arlington House, is 
a half bust, by Houdon, after the manner of the antique, 
full size, and was taken soon after the war of the Eev- 
olution.J 

3d. A beautiful cabinet picture, in relief, by Madame 
de Brienne, representing the heads of Washington and 
Lafayette, about the time of Houdon.§ 

4th. The profile likeness in crayon, by Sharpless, in 

* See Cliapter xi. 
t See page 474. 

\ Houdon was at Mount Vernon in the autumn of 1785. 

§ The Marchioness de Brienne had her first and only sitting from Washington, 
iu October, 1789. See note in the Appendix. 



518 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

1797, an admirable likeness, the profile taken by an in- 
strument, and critically correct. 

Next in the order of succession we have a full-length 
of the commander-in-chief, painted by Peale in 1779, 
during the Kevolution.* This Peale may be very prop- 
erly styled the soldier-artist; for in spring-time he 
would lay aside his palette, and, commanding a company, 
fight a campaign, and on going into winter-quarters, 
take up his palette again, and paint the portraits of the 
great men of the army of Independence. The soldier-* 
artist gave a most graphic and amusing account of his 
painting the portrait of General Greene at Valley Forge. 
He said : " The wretched hut that formed my studio had 
but two articles of furniture — an old bedstead and a 
three-legged chair ! The general being a heavy man, I 
placed him upon the bedstead, while I steadied myself as 

* Charles Willson Peale was bora at Chestertown, in Maryland, in 1741, and 
was apprenticed to a saddler in Annapolis. He became also a silversmith, watch* 
maker, and carver. He offered a handsome saddle to Hesselius, a portrait-painter, 
living in his neighborhood, if he would explain to him the mystery of putting colors 
upon canvass. Hesselius complied, and from that day Pealc's artist-life began. He 
went to England, where he studied under Benjamin West, from 1767 to 1769. He 
returned to America, and for fifteen years was the only portrait painter of excellence 
in this country. By close application he became a good naturalist and preserver of 
animals. He practised dentistry, and invented several machines. During the war he 
conceived the grand design of forming a portrait gallery, and for that purpose he 
painted a great number of likenesses of the leading men of the Revolution, American 
and foreign. Many were of life size, and others in miniature. A large number of 
the former are now in the possession of the American Museum in New York, and 
grace the gallery of that establishment ; and others cover the walls of Independence 
Hall, in Philadelphia. 

Mr. Peale opened a picture gallery in Philadelphia, and also commenced a mu- 
seum, which, in time, became extensive. He delivered a course of lectures on na- 
tural history, and was very efBcient in the establishment and support of the Phila- 
delphia Academy of Fine Arts. He lived temperately, worked assiduously, and 
was greatly esteemed by all who knew him. He died in February, 1S27, aged 
eighty -six years. His son, Rembrandt, is now [July 1859] practising his art in 
Philadelphia, at the age of eighty-two years. 



PORTKAITS OF WASHINGTON. 519 

well as I could upon the rickety chair ; it was awfully 
cold, and I had every few moments to thrust my hands 
into', the fire to enable me to hold my pencil." In such 
a studio, and with such appliances, was painted the only 
reliable likeness that we have of the illustrious soldier 
who was the hero of the South, and second only to him 
who was first of all. 

Peale delighted to relate incidents that occurred dur- 
ing his intercourse at various times with Washington, 
particularly the display of the vast physical prowess of 
the chief in 1772. He said: "One afternoon several 
young gentlemen, visiters at Mount Vernon, and myself 
were engaged in pitching the bar, one of the athletic 
sports common in those days, when suddenly the colonel 
appeared among us. He requested to be shown the 
pegs that marked the bounds of our efforts ; then, smil- 
ing, and without putting off his cont, held out his hand 
for the missile. No sooner," observed the narrator, with 
emphasis, " did the heavy iron bar feel the grasp of his 
mighty hand than it lost the power of gravitation, and 
whizzed through the air, striking the ground far, very 
far, beyond our utmost limits. We were indeed amazed, 
as we stood around, all stripped to the bufi^ with shirt 
sleeves rolled up, and having thought ourselves very 
clever fellows, while the colonel, on retiring, pleasantly 
observed, ' When you beat my pitch, young gentlemen, 
I'll try again.' "=^ 

In 1790 appeared the equestrian portrait of the chief 
by Colonel Trumbull. In the execution of this fine 
work of art, the painter had standings as well as sittings — 
the white charger, fully caparisoned, having been led out 
and held by a groom, while the chief was placed by tho 

* See page 483. 



5:iU ) IlECOLLECTIOx\S OF WASHINGTON. 

artist by the side of the horse, the right arm resting on , 
the saddle. In this novel mode the relative positions of ' 
the man and horse were sketched out and afterwards ] 
transferred to the canvass.''- There is a copy, size of life, 
of the equestrian portrait by Trumbull, in the City-hall 
of New York. The figure of Washington, as delineated 
by Colonel Trumbull, is the most perfect extant. So is i 
the costume, the uniform of the staff in the w^ar forJn- 
dej)endence, being the ancient t(j/u'(/ colors, blue and buff — 
a very splendid performance throughout, and the objec- 
tion to the face as being too florid, not a correct one. He 
was both fair and florid. 

In 1789 the first president lost his teeth, and, the arti- 
ficial ones with which he was furnished answering very 
imperfectly the purpose for which they were intended, 
a marked change occurred in the appearance of his face, 
more especially in the projection of the under lip, which 
forms so distinguishing a feature in the works of Stuart 
and others who painted portraits of the great man sub- 
sequent to 1789.f 

We come now to a brilliant era in the history of the 
iine arts in the United States, in the return of Gilbert 
Stuart to his native land from a long sojourn in Europe, 
where his great fame as a portrait painter obtained for 
him the title of the modern Vandyke.J The distinguish- 

* There must be some error in this account. See remarks on the subject in Note 
vii. in the Appendix. 

t Washington, at the tiTue Stuart painted his portrait, had a set of sea-horse ivory 
teeth. These, just made, were too hirue and clumsy, and gave that peculiar appearance 
of the mouth seen in Stuart's picture. He very soon rejected them. Stuart's 
mouth is a caricature, in a small degree. 

X Gilliert Charles Stuart was a native of Rhode Island, and son of a Scotch snuff- 
maker. He was born in 1754, and at an early age manifested a genius for art. He 
commenced a course of instruction in painting at the age of eighteen years, with aa 



PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 521 

ing excellence of Stuart, as a portrait painter, consisted 
in his giving the expression of character to his portraits, 
a novelty in portrait painting in the United States more 
than half a century ago. Stuart's object and ambition, 
on returning to America, were to paint the great man ol 
his country. He gave to this work all his genius, all his 
skill, and the best feelings of his heart. The first por- 
trait of Washington by Stuart created a great sensation 
on its apjDcarance in Philadelphia. It was soon followed 
by the celebrated full-length for the marquis of Lans- 
downe. In this splendid picture Stuart has failed in the 
figure of the chief, unapproachable as he was, in painting 
the head."=' The great artist had never made the human 
figure his peculiar study or practice. Hence, /or the cor- 
rect figure of Washington zue must refer, in all cases, to the 
works of Trumhiill. It was our good fortune to see much 
of Gilbert Stuart in his studios of Philadelphia and 

amateur artist named Alexander. They made a tour of the Southern States to 
gether, and, finally, the preceptor invited the pupil to go to Scotland with him. He 
remained there sometime, and returned to New York quite a competent portrait 
painter. There he, and the late Doctor Benjamin Waterhouse, commenced drawing 
from life together. In 1775 Stuart went to England, and being a skilful musician, 
he employed music and painting in gaining a livelihood. He was eccentric and did 
not succeed well. In West he found a friend and benefactor, and in the studio of 
that great artist, he first became acquainted with Trumbull. He rapidly improved 
in his art, and might have become the first portrait painter in England, had not 
intemperate habits thwarted the aspirations of his genius. He went to Dublin, and 
then to New York. His fame had preceded him to America, and his studio was filled 
with sitters. But his habits of intemperance increased. He went to Philadelphia 
to paint President Washington. He resided there and at Germantown for some 
time, and went to Washington city, when the federal government was removed to 
that place. From 1805 until his death, he practised his profession in Boston. His 
death occurred in July, 1828, when he was about seventy-four years of age. 

* A small man named Smith, with whom Stuart boarded in Philadelphia, stood 
for the figure of Stuart's full-lengths of Washington. He had a cast of bis arm and 
handinade from a model of that of Washington seen upon the extended arm of the 
picture. His hand was much smaller than that of the chief. 



522 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Wasliiiigton city, and to hear liiin say, " I do not pretend 
to have painted Washington as the general of the armies 
of Independence ; I knew him not as such ; I have 
painted the first president of the United States." And 
again, upon his being asked, " Whom did Washington 
most resemble ?" he replied, " No one but himseE" Stu- 
art complained bitterly of his painting for the marquis 
of Lansdowne having been pirated by Heath, the en- 
graver to his Britannic majesty. He showed us a cop- 
per-plate prepared in England for him by the celebrated 
Sliarpe, the first engraver in Europe, who, although re- 
tired from the burin, had consented to execute a farewell 
engraving of Stuart's Washington. The copper-plate, 
was large, thick, and heavy, and polished like a mirror ; 
while Stuart, laying his hand upon the plate, observed 
with much feeling, " The profits, my young friend, of 
this copper-plate engraved by Sharpe were all the for- 
tune I expected to leave to my family." Heath made 
a fortune from his engraving of the w^ork of Stuart, which 
engraving is a superb specimen of the art. 

Washington was a bad sitter. It annoyed him exceed- 
ingly to sit at all ; and, after every sitting, he was wont 
to declare this must be the last. Stuart, once finding 
the chief very dull, bethought himself to introduce the 
subject of horses. This roused up the sitter, and the 
artist obtained the desired expression. 

The works of Stuart have acquired such extensive and 
deserved celebrity, that a critique from us would be almost 
superfluous. Of the great president, the head (that is, 
the head only) of Stuart is certainly a chef d'oeuvre. There 
. are three originals by this distinguished master : the head 
and bust, from which many copies have been taken, the 



PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 523 

full length for the marquis of Landsdowne,and an original 
intended for Mrs. Washington.* The artist has been par- 
ticularly^ happy in delineating that graceful fall of the 
shoulders, for which the chief was remarkable, and which 
is said to constitute among the finest lines in the por- 
traiture of manly excellence. The defects of the full 
length are in the limbs. There is too much of round- 
ness and finish, according to the rules of art and the most 
approved models of taste and celebrity; whereas the 
original was in himself a model for the arts. Stuart 
once observed, " My impressions of his superior size con- 
siderably abated on trying on his coat, and finding that 
the span of his body was not greater than was to be 
found in some other men." True. We repeat, that his 
remarkable conformation was exclusively in the limbs ; 
and the great artist, and truly pleasant gentleman, might 
have continued his trials, and worn out the coat in try- 
ing, ere he would have found a man whose arms should 
have filled the sleeves, or who possessed that breadth of 
wrists and those hands which, in the chief, almost " ex- 
ceeded nature's law." 

A Mr. Williams, a painter in crayons, had sittings about 
1794, and made a strong likeness; but we have no fur- 
ther knowledge of him or his works.f 

In 1795, both the elder and younger Peale had sittings. 
It was the fortune of the venerable Charles Willson Peale 
to have painted the provincial colonel of his Britannic 
majesty's service in 1772, and the same individual, as 

* This is in the possession of the Boston AtheniBum. 

t Of this artist I find no record. Dunlap mentions a Williams who painted 
thirty years before the Revolution, and lent West books on the subject of art ; also, 
a Williams, " a painter both in oil and miniature," who flourished in Boston about 
forty years ago. 



524 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASinNGTON. 

cliief ningistrate of a great empire, in 1795. The Revo- 
lutionary recollections of the Peale ftimily embrace James 
Peale, \vho was one of that gallant band of Philaclel- 
phians who joined the wreck of the grand army in '76, 
and was engaged in the battles of Trenton and Prince- 
ton. The collection of portraits, made by the patriotic 
founder of the first American museum, are of inestima- 
ble value to our posterity, being the only likenesses ex- 
tant of some of the most distinguished worthies of the 
da^'s of trial. This collection, and the museum entire, 
should be government property, and attached to a na- 
tional university.* 

Mr. Rembrandt Peale, with a laudable desire to give a 
genuine portrait of the Father of his Country, has de- 
voted much time and talent to his Washington. His fine 
performance has received commendation from such high 
authorities that we deem it unnecessary to add anything 
to our certificate, which will be found in the publications 
on that subject.f The equestrian picture, by Rembrandt 
Peale, is a spirited work, and entitled to praise, as Avell 
for its able delineation of the person of the hero, as for 
the other characters which are introduced, particularly 
Hamilton, which is to the life. The white charger is 
rather too small, and the fiice of the general-in-chief 
older than he must have appeared in 1781. The execu- 
tion of this large work is highly creditable to the artist, 
and the school of American arts.J 

* These were sold a few years ago, and a large proportion of them now adorn 
the walls of Independence Hall, Philadeli>hia. 

t Tills picture was purchased by the United States government for $2,000, and 
now adorns the senate chamber in the federal capitol. 

J This equestrian portrait is now (1859) in the rotunda of the federal capitol, 
awaiting the action of Congress upon a proposition to purchase it for the govern 
ment. 



PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 525 

The last original (profile in crayons) was by Sharj^less, 
1796, and, as we have said, is now at Arlington House. 
So much was this performance admired for the exquisite 
likeness and uncommon truthfulness of expression, that 
the chief ordered portraits by the same artist of every 
member of his domestic family, including George W. 
Lafayette.''' 

Cerracchi, the celebrated sculptor and enthusiast for 
liberty, came to this country about 1793 or 1794, and 
executed two busts, in marble, of the president and of 
Hamilton, the last said to be the best. Cerracchi was a 
singularly-looking man — very short, full of action, bril- 
liant eyes, emitting the sparks of genius, and wore two 
watches. He afterward perished at Paris, as author of 
the "infernal machine." Cerracchi's bust of the chief is 
a failure ; his bust of Hamilton, magnificent.f 

We have thus enumerated most of the reliable ori»- 

o 

inals of the Pater Patri^ from 1772 to 1796, with re- 
marks upon each. These, with the statue by Houdon in 
1788, constitute, in our humble opinion, all the resem- 
blances in paintings and sculpture of the beloved Wash- 
ington that will descend, venerated and admired, to pos- 
terity. 

We believe that we have gone through the best orig- 
inals, and we hope with equal candor and justice to all. 
We come now to the beautiful statue, by Canova, which 
long will " enchant our western world." J 

If the drawings which we have seen are correct, Ca- 
nova, too, has mistaken the figure of the Pater PatriaB. 

* This portrait, with one of the author of these Recollections, made in 1797, are 
now at Arlington House, 
t See Note vii. in the Appendix, 
t This statue is at Raleigh, North Carolina. The head is from Cerracchi's bust. 



526 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

The illustrious artist, seated in the Eternal City, amid 
the classic remains of Roman grandeur, has had in his 
mind's eye the stout, square figure of those heroes whose 
patient endurance of hardships, whose valor and disci- 
pline, rendered them masters of the ancient world. But 
the great American can not be modelled, from coin or 
statue, by the force of genius or the illustrations of art. 
The graces of his person, like the virtues of his soul, 
owed their perfections to the master-hand, the hand of 
Nature. 

Of the painting, said to be an original, by WertmuUer, 
and executed about 1795, we literally know nothing;* 
yet, in 1795, we were not absent from the presidential 
mansion in Philadelphia a single day. Again, through 
whose influence was the sitting obtained for a picture 
said to be for a Swedish nobleman ? It is notorious that 
it was only by hard begging that Mrs. Bingham obtained 
the sittings for the marquis of Lansdowne's picture. 
And, again, we knew little or nothing of Sweden in the 
olden days, while we had, and still preserve, a most hon- 
ored recollection of Denmark in the memory of a gal- 
lant Dane, Colonel Febiger, a distinguished officer of 
our Revolutionary army. And, lastly, if the WertmuUer 
was painted about 1795, where is the distinguishing fea- 
ture in the physiognomy of the chief at that period — 
the projection of the under lip ? 

In giving a description of the stature and form of 
Washington, we give not only the result of our personal 
observation and experience of many years, but information 
derived from the highest authority — - a favorite nephew. 

* A well-engraved copy of this portrait is published in the first volume of Ir\'ing'8 
Lift of Washington. See Note vLi. in the Appendix. 



PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 527 

Major Lawrence Lewis asked his uncle what was his 
height in the prime of hfe ? He repUed, " In my best 
days, Lawrence, I stood six feet and two inches in or- 
dinary shoes." We know that he measured, by a stand- 
ard, precisely six feet when laid out in death. Of his 
weight we are an evidence, having heard him say to 
Crawford, governor of Canada, in 1799, "My weight, in 
my best days, sir, never exceeded from two hundred and 
ten to twenty." His form was unique. Unlike most ath- 
letic frames that expand at the shoulders and then 
gather in at the hips, the form of Washington devi- 
ated from the general rule, since it descended from the 
shoulders to the hips in perpendicular lines, the breadth 
of the trunk being nearly as great at the one end as at 
the other. His limbs were long, large, and sinewy ; in 
his lower limbs, he was what is usually called straight- 
limbed. His joints, feet, and hands, were large ; and, could 
a cast have been made from his right hand (so far did its 
dimensions exceed nature's model), it would have been 
preserved in museums for ages as the anatomical won- 
der of the eighteenth century. 

The eyes of the chief were a light-grayish blue, deep 
sunken in their sockets, giving the expression of gravity 
and thought. Stuart painted those eyes of a deeper 
blue, saying, " In a hundred years they will have faded 
to the right color." His hair was of a hazel brown, and 
very thin in his latter days. In his movements, he pre- 
served, in a remarkable degree and to an advanced age, 
the elastic step that he had acquired in his service on 
the frontier. 

Being ordered one morning very early into the library 
at Mount Vernon (a place that none entered without 



528 RECOLLECTIONS OF AVASHINGTON. 

orders), the weather being warm, we found the chief very 
much undressed, and, while looking on his manly frame, 
we discovered that the centre of his chest was indented. 
This is an exception to the general rule laid down by 
anatomists, that, where the human frame possesses great 
muscular power, the chest should rather be rounded out 
and protuberant than indented/'' We were equally sur- 
prised to find how thin he was in person, being, with the 
absence of flesh, literally a man of " thews and sinews." 
He wore around his neck the miniature-portrait of his 
wife. This he had worn through all the vicissitudes of 
his eventful career, from the period of his marriage to 
the last days at Mount Vernon.f 

In the appearance of Washington, there was nothing of 
bulkiness ; but there was united all that was dignified 
and graceful, while his air and manner were at once 
noble and commanding. No one approached him that 
did not feel for him, as Lord Erskine observed, "a degree 
of awful reverence." J He wore a sword with a peculiar 
grace. The Yiscomte de Noailles said it was because 
" the man was made for the sword, and not the sword for 
the man." 

* Washington, as we have observed elsewhere, was much affected by a pulmonary 
disease in 1757 and 1758, which threatened, at one time, to become a consumption. 

t This miniature could not have been painted earlier than the visit of C. W. Peale 
to Mount Vernon, in 1772, by whom it was probably executed. We have no ac- 
count of any painter in miniature in the colonies previous to that time, except Tay- 
lor, who painted small heads in water-colors, in Philadelphia, in 1760. 

t On the 15th of March, 1797, Lord Er.skine wrote to Washington from London, 
Baying, " I have taken the liberty to introduce your august and immortal name in a 
short sentence, which is to be found in a book I send you. I have a large acquaint- 
ance among the m6st valuable and exalted classes of men ; but you are the only 
human being for whom I have ever felt an awful reverence. I sincerely pray God 
to grant you a long and serene evening to a life so gloriously devoted to tlie univer- 
sal happiness of the world." 



PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 529 

Lafayette, not long after the war of the Revolution, 
wrote a letter to Colonel Trumbull, urging him to paint 
an equestrian portrait of the chief as he appeared on 
the field at Monmouth. The illustrious Frenchman, 
America's great benefactor, said to us, "I was a very 
young major-general on that memorable day, and had. a 
great deal to do, but took time, amid the heat and fury 
of the fight, to gaze upon and admire Washington, as, 
mounted on a splendid charger covered with foam, he 
rallied our line with words never to be forgotten : 'Stand 
fast, my boys, and receive your enemy ; the southern 
troops are advancing to support you !' I thought then, 
as I do now," continued the good Lafayette, "that never 
have I seen so superb a man."* 

Our readers may ask. Shall the standard portraiture be 
equestrian ? We reply, to the portrait of one so accom- 
plished a cavalier as Washington wns, the white charger, 
with the leopard-skin housings, &c., would be an embel- 
lishment, the chief to be dismounted, with arm resting 
on the saddle, after the manner of Trumbull. 

But, whether equestrian or not, the Americans have 
the materials for the standard before them in the head 
from Stuart, with some slight modifications from the 
original of 1772, and the figure from TrumhuU entire. They 
have only to choose their artist, and let the work be 
done. 

We have been thus minute in describing the portrait- 
ure of Washington, because posterity always inquires, 
" How looked the great of the olden time ?" Should 
these Recollections meet the eye of posterity, we can only 
say that our portrait, though humbly, is faithfully drawn. 

* See page 220. 

34 



530 RECOLLECTIONS OF WASHINGTON. 

Those who may portray the chief in latter life, should 
lay on their tints of age full lightly, for his was an age 
of action and of untiring labors in the cause of public 
utilit}^, and for the good of mankind ; and, although he 
had nearly reached the scriptural duration of man, time 
had so gently ushered him into the "vale of years" as to 
have left its usual infirmities behind, while his "lusty 
winter" had shed its " frosts so kindly" that he seemed 
rather as a full ripened autumn, for no desolation was 
there. 

When this noble empire shall have achieved its high 
destiny, and, embracing a continent, attained a power J 
and grandeur unexampled in the history of nations, the { 
future American from the topmost height of his great- ' 
ness, will look back upon the early days of his countr}'', 
and call up the "time-honored" memories of the heroic 
era and the age of Washington ; and, when contem- 
plating the image of the Pater Patrice, perpetuated by 
the mellowed tints of the canvass and the freshness of 
time-enduring bronze, with honest pride of ancestry he 
will exclaim, " My forefather was the associate of that 
great man in the perils and glories of the struggle for 
American independence. Let there be undying honor 
to the memory of Washington ; ever green be the lau- 
rels that deck his trophied tomb; ever living be the 
homage in the hearts of his countrymen and mankind 
for the j^atriot, the hero, and the sage, who, under Provi- 
dence, with humble means, so much contributed to raise 
his native land from the depths of dependence, and to 
place her in the rank of nations ; who presided over her 
civic destinies in the dawn of the great experiment of 
Felf-government; and who, after an illustrious life spent 



PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 531 

in the service of liberty and mankind, and without a 
cloud to dim the lustre of his fame, descended to the 
grave with the august title of the Father of his 
Country* 

* In Note vii. in the Appendix, I have given a brief account of several original 
portraits of Washington, not mentioned by Mr. Curtis. 



m 



APPENDIX. 



NOTE I.-Page 34. 

ORIGINAL CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN GENERAL WASHINGTON AND 
JOHN PARKE CUSTIS. 

The following letters, never before published, passed between 
General Washington and his step-son, John Parke Custis, during 
the Revolution. They serve to exhibit, in a strong light, that 
characteristic of the great leader's mind, which enabled him to 
abstract himself from the most important public concerns, and to 
attend to the consideration of the minute details of private life. 
These letters also have an intrinsic interest, because they contain 
much information of a public character, having a bearing upon 
the current events of the time. One of them reveals a fact, not 
generally known, namely, that officers of the continental army — 
even Washington himself — speculated in the chances of profits 
arising from the success of privateering. 

It will be seen by the dates of these letters, and the allusions 
in them to current events, that some of them were written by 
Washington at times when the weightiest public affairs must have 
occupied his mind. 

[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] 

/ Philadelphia, June 19, 1775. 

Dear Jack : I have been called upon by the unanimous voice 
of the colonies to take the command of the continental army. It 
is an honor I neither sought after, or was by any means fond of 
accepting, from a consciousness of my own inexperience and ina- 
bility to discharge the duties of so important a trust. However, as 



534 APPENDIX. 

the partiality of the Congress has placed me in this distinguished 
point of view, I can make them no other return but what will flow 
from close attention and an upright intention — for the rest I can 
say nothing. My great concern upon this occasion is, the thought 
of leaving your mother under the uneasiness which I fear this af- 
fair will throw her into ; I therefore hope, expect, and indeed 
"have no doubt, of your using every means in your power to keep 
up her spirits, by doing everything in your power to promote her 
quiet. I have, I must confess, very ulieasy feelings on her ac- 
count, but as it has been a kind of unavoidable necessity which 
has led me into this appointment, I shall more readily hope that 
success will attend it and crown our meetings with happiness. 

At any time, I hope it is unnecessary for me to say, that I am 
always pleased with yours and Nelly's abidance at Mount Yernon, 
much less upon this occasion, when I think it absolutely necessary 
for the peace and satisfaction of your mother ; a consideration 
which I have no doubt will have due weight with you both, and 
require no arguments to enforce. 

As the public gazettes will convey every article of intelligence 
that I could communicate in this letter, I shall not repeat them, 
but with love to Nelly, and sincere regard for yourself, I remain, 

Your most affectionate, 

Geo. Washington. 

P. S. — Since writing the foregoing, I have received your letter 
of the fifteenth instant. I am obliged to you for the intelligence 
therein contained, and am glad you directed about the tobacco, 
for I had really forgot it. You must now take upon yourself the 
entire management of your own estate, it will no longer be in ray 
power to assist you, nor is there any occasion for it, as you have 
never discovered a disposition to put it to a bad use. 

The Congress, for I am at liberty to say as much, are about to 
strike two million of dollars as a continental currency, for the 
support of the war, as Great Britain seems determined to enforce 
us into — and there will be at least fifteen thousand raised as a 
continental army. As I am exceedingly hurried, I can add no 
more at present than that I am, &c. G W. 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 535 

[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS ] 

.^^y New York, Juhi 24, 1776. 

Dear Sir : I wrote to you two or three posts ago, since wliich 
your letter of the tenth instant is come to hand. With respeei; 
to the proposed exchange of lands with Colonel Thomas Moore, 
I have not a competent knowledge of either tract to give an opin- 
ion with any degree of precision; but from the situation of 
Moore's land, and its contiguity to a large part of your estate, 
and where you will probably make your residence, I should, were 
I in your place, be very fond of the exchange ; especially, as the 
land you hold in Hanover is but a small tract, and totally de- 
tached from the rest of your estate. What local advantages it 
may have I know not. These ought to be inquired into, because 
a valuable mill seat often gives great value to a poor piece of 
land (as I understand that of yours in Hanover is). I have no 
doubt myself, but that middling land under a man's own eye, is 
more profitable than rich land at a distance, for which reason I 
should, were I in your place, be for drawing as many of my slaves 
to the lands in King William and King and Queen as could work 
on them to advantage, and I should also be for adding to those 
tracts if it could be done upon reasonable terras. 

I am very sorry to hear by your account that General Lewis* 
stands so unfavorably with his ofl&cers. I always had a good 
opinion of him, and should have hoped that he had been pos- 
sessed of too much good sense to maltreat his officers, and there- 
by render himself obnoxious to them. 

We have a powerful fleet in full view of us — at the watering- 
place of Staten island. General Howe and his army are landed 
thereon, and it is thought will make no attempt upon this city 
till his re-enforcements, which are hourly expected, arrive. When 
this happens it is to be presumed that there will be some pretty 
warm work. Give my love to Nelly, and compliments to Mr. 
Calvert and family, and to others who may inquire after, dear sir, 
Your affectionate, Geo. Washington. 

* General Andrew Lewis, an excellent Virginian officer who commanded at Point 
Vleasant, in the battle with the Indians there, in 1774. 



536 APPEXDIX. 

fcCSTIS TO WASHINGTON.] 

Mount Airy, Aufftisf 8, 1776. 

Honored Sir: Your letters of the eighth and twenty-fourth 
ultimo came safely to hand, and I should certainly have answered 
them before now, if I had not been in hopes of collecting something 
worth relating. I feel the sincerest pleasure that my professions 
of gratitude were received in the light I would wish them to be. 
I can only express it in words at this time. " I fervently wish 
lo have an opportunity of fulfilling them by my actions ; I need 
no more words to convince you of my sincerity, for I flatter my- 
self you are satisfied that deceit makes no part of my character. 
I am happy to find my ideas of land coincide with yours. Hill 
informed me that a good part of Colonel Moore's land was as 
finely timbered as he ever saw, and the soil very proper for farm- 
ing: these circumstances, added to its situation, render it in my 
opinion a very desirable purchase. I desired Hill to contract for 
it on the best terms he could, with the advice of Uncles Bassett 
and Dandridge, who were kind enough to promise all their assist- 
ance. My land in Hanover, as far as I can learn, is very indif- 
ferent, and is valuable only for its timber. 

You have no doubt heard of the men-of-war coming up Potow- 
mack as far as Mr. Brent's, whose house they burnt with several 
outhouses and some stacks of wheat. A Captain James with 
sixty militia were stationed there who all got drunk, and kept 
challenging the men-of-war to come ashore, and upbraiding them 
with cowardice. Hammond sent one hundred and fifty men, who 
landed about ten o'clock under cover of a gondola and tender. 
The militia were asleep after their drinking frolic, and did not 
discover tlic enemy until they landed and their vessels began to 
fire. Captain James desired his men to shift for themselves, and 
-••an off without firing a gun. A young man by name of Combs 
stayed until he killed three of the enemy. Colonel Grayson ap- 
pearing with thirty Prince William volunteers, the enemy thought 
proper to retire to their ships. Captain James is to be tried for 
cowardice. The fleet, after performing tliis exploit, returned 
down the river to George's island, from whence they have been 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 537 

drove off by Major Price with some loss. They are gone down 
the bay in a most sickly condition. I have not heard where they 
have stopped. Before they left the island they burned several 
vessels, and I hear that two sloops belonging to them have fallen 
into Captain Boucher's hands. 

This province has been thrown into much confusion lately, on 
account of elections. In several counties it has been determined 
contj-ary to an express order of convention, that every man who 
bears arms is entitled to vote. This, in my opinion, is a danger- 
ous procedure, and tends to introduce anarchy and confusion as 
much as anything I know. The latter it has already introduced 
in the counties where it has been practised ; men who are by no 
means qualified having been chosen, and proper men left out. 

I have the pleasure to inform you that a majority of the coun- 
ties have obeyed the order of convention. Your old friend Colo- 
onel Fitzhugh is elected for the county he lives in. His military 
knowledge will be very useful in council, where such knowledge 
is much wanting. T. Johnson is left out of every office at pres- 
ent. He was appointed a brigadier-general. The county he 
lived in petitioned him to resign his commission, that they might 
elect him a burgess. He granted their request, and they deceived 
him. You will, I doubt not, regret with me that so proper a 
man should be left out of office. 

I received by last post a letter from Dr. Attwood, containing 
an account against me of two dollars, for bleeding and sundry 
medicines. I well remember when at King's college to have re- 
ceived them, but I am much at a loss to account for Doctor Coop- 
er's extravagant charge, and leaving so many accounts unpaid. 
I shall be obliged to you to order him to be paid. I enclose you 
his letter which you sent under cover last post.* The family 
here and at Milwood join in compliments. Nelly presents her 
love. I am, honored sir, 

Your most affectionate, 

John Paeke Custis. 

* Mr. Custis was in Kings (now Columbia) college in 1773. 



538 APPENDIX. 

[WASHINGTON TO CDSTIS.] 

Morris Town, Ja/iurtry 22, 1777. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of the seventh came to my hands a few 
days ago, and brought with it the pleasing reflection of your still 
holding me in remembrance. 

The misfortune of short enlistments, and an unhappy depend- 
ance upon militia, have shown their baneful influence at every 
period, and almost upon every occasion, throughout the whole 
course of this war. At no time, nor upon no occasion, were they 
ever more exemplified than since Christmas ; for if we could but 
have got in the militia in time, or prevailed upon those troops 
whose times expired (as they generally did) on the first of this 
instant, to have continued (not more than a thousand or twelve 
hundred agreeing to stay) we might, I am persuaded, have cleared 
the Jerseys entirely of the enemy. Instead of this, all our move- 
ments have been made with inferior numbers, and with a mixed, 
motley crew, who were here to-day, gone to-morrow, without 
assigning a reason, or even apprizing you of it. In a word, I 
believe I may with truth add, that I do not think that any officer 
since the creation ever had such a variety of difficulties and per- 
plexities to encounter as I have. How we shall be able to rub 
along till the new army is raised, I know not. Providence has 
heretofore saved us in a remarkable manner, and on this we must 
principally rely. Every person in every state should exert him- 
self to facilitate the raising and marching the new regiments to 
the army with all possible expedition. 

I have never seen (but heard of) the resolve you mentioned, 
nor do I get a paper of Purdie's* once a month. Those who 
want faith to believe the account of the shocking wastes com- 
mitted by Howe's army — of their ravaging, plundering, and 
abuse of women — may be convinced, to their sorrow, perhaps, if a 
check can not be put to their progress. 

It is painful to me to hear of such illiberal reflections upon 
the eastern troops as you say prevails in Virginia. I always 
have, and always shall say, that I do not believe that any of the 

* Virginia Gazette, published at Williamsburg, Virginia. 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 539 

states produce better men, or persons capable of making better 
soldiers, but it is to be acknowledged that they are (generally 
speaking) most wretchedly officered. To this, and this only, is 
to be attributed their demerits. The policy of those states has 
been, to level men as much as possible to one standard. The 
distinction, therefore, between officers and soldiers * * * 
and that hunger and thirst after glory which* * * . * 

This is the true secret, and we have found, tliat wherever a regi- 
ment is well-officered, their men have behaved well — when other- 
wise, ill — the misconduct or cowardly behaviour always origin- 
ating with the officers who have set the example. Equal injustice 
is done them, in depriving them of merit in other respects ; for 
no people fly to arms readier than they do, or come better equip- 
ped, or with more regularity into the field than they. 

With respect to your inquiries about payments made Mr. 

I can not answer them with precision, but I am exceedingly mis- 
taken if I have not made him two, for both you and myself. 
Indeed I am as sure of it as I can be of anything from the bad- 
ness of my memory. I think I made him one payment myself, 
and the treasurer, or Hill, made him the other. The book, 
however, in which I keep your accounts will show it (the parch- 
ment-covered quarto onef) as you will, I suppose, find yourself 
charged by me, with the payments made. 

In my letter to Lund Washington, I have given the late oc- 
currences, and to avoid repetition, I refer you to him. My love 
to Nelly, and compliments to Mr. Calvert's family, and all other 
inquiring friends, leaving me nothing else to add, than that 
I am, your affectionate, Geo. Washington. 

[CUSTIS TO WASHINGTON.! 

WiLLiAMSBTTRGH, August 8, 1777. 

Honored Sir : I do with the most unfeigned pleasure con- 
gratulate you and your success in the Jerseys over our enemy. 

* Some moclera pen has blotted out several words in the four or five lines suc- 
ceeding this portion of the sentence, and entirely destroyed the connection. 
. t This account-book is now at Arlington House. 



540 APPENDIX. 

We are now anxious to know where these disturbers of our peace 
will next bend their course ; but rest satisfied that at your ai> 
proach, the plunderers will quit any part of the country they 
may have seized upon, with the same disgrace they left the 
Jerseys. 

You will, no doubt, be surprised to hear of the acquital of 
Davis and his accomplices. It has indeed astonished every one 
here, except the judges, and the lawyers who defended the crim- 
inals. I was present at the trial, and was clearly satisfied from 
the evidence that Davis was guilty — the jury brought in their 
verdict to that purpose. But the attorney having omitted to 
mention who the enemies of America were, although he accused 
Davis of adhering to the enemies of America, the lawyers took 
hold of the quibble, and persuaded the judges to overset the ver- 
dict. It is now determined that releasing prisoners of war from 
their place of confinement, is not treason against the state. This 
judgment, in my opinion, does not reflect much honor on the 
talents of our judges, and indeed it is much to be lamented, that 
our assembly might have made a much better appointment and 
did not do it. Their decision, I am afraid, will be productive 
of much injury, for no tory or prisoner of war can be kept in this 
state, as those who set them at liberty are subject to no penalty. 
Davis was not admitted as an evidence, on account of his having 
been a convict, and not having served his seven years, for the 
lawyers made this quibble, that no man can be an evidence un- 
less he served the whole time of his conviction. Your kindness 
to Davis in giving him two years of his time, had well nigh cost 
him his life in this instance, and prevented him from bearing 
testimony against two as great villains as himself. 

I have the pleasure to acquaint you that the test is generally 
taken through the country, few or none hesitating to take it. I 
wish our assembly had laid a tax at the same time they made 
the test. I am convinced there would have been as little objec- 
tion to the one as the other ; but unfortunately for us our rulers, 
like other men, can not divest themselves of their attachment to 
their private gain, many of them being guilty of the crime they 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 541 

ought to punish in others, their whole aim being to get immense 
fortunes, which some have succeeded in. 

When at Philadelphia, I thought nothing could exceed the 
price of goods at that place, but I am sorry that I have found 
good reason to change my opinion. Our country is crowded 
with harpies from Maryland and Pennsylvania, who buy up every 
article, and retail them out again at the most intolerable priqes, 
distressing the poor at a cruel degree. Our assembly provided 
nothing against this evil, which we must submit to, without any 
hopes of redress, until October, unless the people fall upon means 
to redress themselves, which, I fear, they will, from the great 
want of salt which these devils have engrossed. 

I am happy to inform you that your people at Davenport's are 
recovered from their sickness. They have had a dreadful fever 
among them, which has at last subsided. You have a prospect 
of a very plentiful crop this year, which is the same through the 
country. I have heard some old gentlemen say they do not 
remember such prospects of a crop these twenty years past. 
There has been more rain since harvest then I remember to 
have seen fall at this season of the year. We shall have Plenty 
if not Peace this year, but I hope to enjoy both before this time 
twelvemonths. 

I shall always acknowledge with pleasure the many favors and 
kindnesses I have received at your hands, and shall always gladly 
do everything to make you some return. I must now beg of 
you, sir, to accept, as an instance of gratitude in me, a horse colt, 
which was got by Delany's horse, out of a very fine high-bred 
mare, given me by Mr. Calvert. I wish the colt was older, as 
he would be more acceptable. He was foaled only in June. He 
is a dark bay with a blaze in his face, and, as I am informed, is a 
very fine made colt, and large. I must beg of you not to be 
scrupulous about accepting the colt, as by doing it, you will 
much oblige me. 

Nelly joins me in wishing you health and victory over the 
enemy, and I am, Honored sir, your most affectionate, 

J. P. CUSTIS. 



542 APPENDIX. 

[extract of a letter from JOHN PARKE CCSTIS TO GENERAL WASHINGTON. j , 

Eltham, September 11, 1777. ; 

I AM sorry that I have nothing to inform you of by the way of * 
news, except that the militia have turned out to the number of I 
five thousand very fine men. General Nelson parades twice a } 
week, and they fire away an amazing quantity of powder, I think [ 
to very little purpose, when we are not overstocked, and the | 
militia to continue but a short time. The cry against the eastern \ 
troops was beginning to break out with double vigor. Your ' 
letter that I published last winter had the desired effect for some • 
time, but the enemies to the eastern states concluded that it a 
was generally forgot in the country. A member of Congress 
from this state, wrote to his son, that General Stark had, on 
account of some disgust, drawn himself off from the army with 
two thousand men. The gentleman asked me in a very large 
company, if I knew a General Stark, formerly Colonel Stark. I 
told him, yes, and he was looked upon as a brave and good officer. 
He replied he knew him to be a damned rascal, and produced 
this letter, when the whole company agreed with him. This 
letter was greedily circulated about the town, and every one 
was abusing the eastern troops as cowards. General Stark has 

given a good contradiction to Colonel H n's* letter. It is to 

be lamented that the gentlemen of Congress can not divest them- 
selves of their private animosities, and give fair and impartial 
accounts. I have seen several of his letters filled with the most 
bitter invectives against the eastern men ; such conduct tends 
only to breed divisions among us, and weaken our glorious cause. 

I was prevailed upon yesterday at court to offer myself as a 
delegate at the next election in New Kent. The gentlemen 
gave me every reason to expect success should they honor me 
with the appointment. I am determined to serve them on trua 
independent principles to the best of my abilities. 

Nelly joins me in love, and wishing you a glorious victory over 
our enemy, believe me sincerely and affectionately, 

J. P. CUSTIS. 



* Colonel Harrison. 



i 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 543 

[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] 

ty^ I Peekiomy Creek in Philadelphia, N. Y. 

( September 2^, 1777. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of the eleventh instant came to my 
hands yesterday. 

It was always my intention, if agreeable to your mother, to 
give you the offer of renting her dower-estate in King William 
during my interest therein, so soon as you come of age to act 
for yourself. On two accounts I resolved to do this — first, be- 
cause I was desirous of contracting my own business into as 
narrow a compass as possible ; and, secondly, because I thought 
an estate, so capable of improvement as that is (in the hands of 
a person who had a permanent interest in it, and the means 
withal) ought not to be neglected till an unfortunate event, and 
perhaps a distant one, might put you in possession. 

The little attention I have been able to pay to any part of my 
own private business for three years last past is the cause why this 
among other matters has escaped me, but since you have men- 
tioned it yourself, I have only to add, that it will be quite agree- 
able to me that you should have the land, and everything thereon 
except breeding mares, if any, and fillies. 

To regulate the rent by the rule you have mentioned, I could 
not consent, because, if the plantation had been under good 
management, it would have fixed it higher than you ought to 
give. If, under bad management, which I believe to be the case, 
it would fix it too low, and might settle it at nothing. The 
only true criterion is to determine what so much land, with so 
much marsh, in such a part of the country, would rent for ; and then 
the annual value of so many slaves, estimating them at their pres- 
ent worth, at the same time having respect to the advantages 
and disadvantages of the old and the young, as the one is de- 
clining and the other improving. 

As you are desirous of having the matter fixed as speedily as 
possible — as the distance between us is too great — the season far 
advanced — and letters too apt to miscarry to negotiate a business 
of this kind, in that way, and as I wish for no more than impar- 



• 



544 APPENDIX. 

tial gentlemen, unconnected with both of us, shall say I ought to 
liave ; I am content to leave the valuation of the whole to Gen- 
eral Nelson, Colonel Braxton, and George Webb, Esq. I men- 
tion these gentlemen because they are persons of character, and 
because no time may be lost in the appointment. 

"Whatever rent they shall fix upon the land, and whatever hire 
for the negroes, I contentedly will take. Tlie stock of every 
kind (except mares and fillies), and plantation utensils and work 
ing tools may also be valued ; at which you may take them ; by 
whicli means the whole business may be finished at once. 

That these gentlemen (if you approve the method of ascertain- 
ing the rent) may know it is with my approbation, the request is i 
made to them you will show them this letter, and at the same 
time apologize in my name for the trouble it will give them if i 
they are obliging enough to undertake it. 

My extreme hurry, especially at this juncture, only allows me 
time to give my love to Nelly, and to assure you that I am, with 
sincere regard and affection, dear sir, yours, 

Geo. Washington. 

P. S. In the present fluctuating state of things, there is one 
thing which justice to myself and your mother requires me to 
condition for, and that is that the rent stipulated shall have some 
relative value, to secure an equivalent for the land and slaves ; 
otherwise, as the lease will be an absolute conveyance of the 
estate from your mother and me, we may at the end of a few 
years, if paper money continues to depreciate, get nothing for it. 
I do not mean by this to insinuate that I am unwilling to receive 
paper money — on the contrary, I shall, with cheerfulness receive 
payment in anything that has a currency at the time, but of equal 
value then to the intrinsic worth at the time of fixing the rent. 
In a word, that I may really, and not nominally, get what was 
intended as a rent. Yours, <fec. 

G. W N. 

John Parke Cdstis, Esq. 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 545 

[CDSTIS TO WASHINGTON.] 

Honored Sir : I have intended for several letters past, but as 
often forgot it, to ask whether it would be agreeable to you, 
to admit Colonel Baylor a partner in the share we have of the 
privateer. He was very desirous to become an adventurer, and 
I promised to acquaint you of it, but forgot it until now. The 
share I own is divided into four parts, Mr. Lund Washington 
has one fourth, the remaining three-fourths are divided between. 
you and myself. If you have no objections, I am willing to 
oblige Colonel Baylor with a fourth part of the share. I would 
not be understood by this, that I think I have a bad bargain. 
On the contrary, I think we have every reason to expect great 
success. I propose it altogether to oblige Colonel Baylor, as 
he was very desirous of being concerned in the ship. If it is 
agreeable to you, you will please to acquaint Colonel Baylor that 
we shall look upon him as a partner, and that I should be glad 
to know on whom I shall draw for his proportion of the expense. 
You will, I hope, sir, excuse this liberty, and believe me, honored, 

Your ever affectionate, 

J. P. CUSTIS. 

[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS. ] 

/ j Whitemarsh, 12 miles from Philadelphia, 

^ ( November 14, 1777. 

Dear Sir : Your letter of the twenty-sixth ultimo came to my 
hands in due course of post. I observe what you say respecting 
the renting of Claibornes. It is not my wish to let it for any 
longer term than your mamma inclines to, and at no rate, for her 
life, unless it is perfectly agreeable to her. This I did conceive 
would have been the case (as I think she informed me) to you ; 
but if it is not, I am equally well pleased. I am very well con- 
vinced that I can, when time will permit me to attend to my own 
business, readily rent the place for my own interest in it, as there 
are many that wish for it. If there is but tolerable good grounds 
to suspect that the distemper will get among my cattle at Clai- 
bornes, I shall be glad if you would desire Mr. Hill, when you 

35 



54 G APPENDIX. 

next write to him, to dispose of tlicm if he can (provided he also 
coincides with you in opinion). 

It is much to be wished that a remedy could be applied to the 
depreciation of our currency. I know of no person better quali- 
fied to do this than Colonel Mason, and shall be very happy to 
hear that he has taken it in hand. Long have I been persuaded 
of the indispensable necessity of a tax for the purpose of sinking 
the paper money, and why it has been delayed better politicians 
than I must account for. What plan Colonel Mason may have 
in contemplation for filling up the Virginia regiments I know not, 
but certain I am that this is a measure that can not be dispensed i 
with, nor ought not under any pretext whatsoever. I hope 
Colonel Mason's health will admit his attendance on the assem- 
bly, and no other plea should be offered, much less received by 
his constituents. 

It is perfectly agreeable, too, that Colonel Baylor should share 
part of the privateer. I have spoken to him on the subject ; he 
still continues in the same mind, and will write to you on the 
subject. I shall therefore consider myself as possessing one 
fourth of your full share, and that yourself, Baylor, L. "Washing- 
ton, and I, are equally concerned in the share you at first held. 

The only articles of intelligence worth communicating I have 
written to your mamma, and refer you to that letter. We have 
an account, indeed, which seems to gain credit, that Weeks, with 
a squadron of ships fitted out of the French ports, under continen- 
tal colors, had taken fifty-three homeward-bound West-Indiamen 
(chiefly from Jamaica) in the English channel ; that Lord Stor- 
mont was recalled from the court of France ; and war expected 
every moment between France and Britain. God send it. 

Give my love to Nelly, and be assured that with sincere regard 
I remain, dear sir. Your most affectionate, 

Geo. Washington. 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 547 

[WASHINGTON TO CCSTlS.] 

Valley Forge, February 1, 1778. 

•Dear Sir : I will just write you a few lines in acknowledgment 
of your letter of the fourteenth ultimo, which was detained by 
the posts, not being able to cross Susquehanna, till the evening 
before last. I congratulate you upon the birth of another daugh- 
ter, and Nelly's good health ; and heartily wish the last may con- 
tinue, and the other be a blessing to you. 

The money received for your land was, I think, well applied, 
unless you could have laid it out for other lands more convenient ; 
which method I should have preferred, as land is the most per- 
manent estate we can hold, and most likely to increase in its 
value. Your mamma is not yet arrived, but if she left Mount 
Vernon on the twenty-sixth ultimo, as intended, may, I think, be 
expected every hour. Mead set off yesterday (as soon as I got 
notice of her intention) to meet her. We are in a dreary kind 
of place, and uncomfortably provided ; for other matters I shall 
refer you to the bearer, Colonel Fitzgerald, who can give you the 
occurrences of the camp, &c., better than can be related in a 
letter. My best wishes attend Nelly and the little ones, and with 
sincere regard I am and shall ever remain, dear sir, 

Your most affectionate, 

Geo. Washington. 

[mES. WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS AND WIFE.] 

MiDDLEBKOOK, March the 19th, 1778. 

My Dear Children : Not having received any letters from you 
the two last posts, I have only to tell you that the general and 
myself are well. All is quiet in this quarter. It is from the 
southward that we expect to hear news. We are very anxious 
to know how our affairs are going in that quarter. Colonel Har- 
rison is not yet arrived at camp. We have heard that he is in 
Philadelphia several days ago. 

I hear so very seldom from you, that I do n't know where you 
are, or whether you intend to come to Alexandria to live this 
spring, or when. The last letter from Nelly she says both the 
children have been very ill : they were, she hoped, getting better. 



548 APPENDIX. 

If you do not write to me I will not write to you again, or till I 
get letters from you. Let me know how all friends below are ; 
they have forgot to write to me, I believe. 

Remember me to all inquiring friends. Give the dear little 
girls a kiss for me, and tell Bett I have got a pretty new doll for 
her, but don't know how to send it to her. The general joins 
me in love to you both, and begs to be remembered to all our 
friends that inquire after us. I am, with sincere love, 
Your truly afifectionate mother, 

Martha "Washington. 

[CUSTIS TO WASHINGTON.] 

Mount Vebnon, June 17, 1778. 

Honored Sir : When I last did myself the pleasure of writing 
you, I was in so great a hurry that I believe my letter was scarce- 
ly legible. I must, therefore, in this, beg an excuse, and likewise 
make an apology for not giving you an account of the acts passed 
in the last assembly. I herewith transmit you the titles of the 
acts, and wish I could send you the acts themselves ; they might 
afford you some satisfaction. But through laziness or some other 
default the printer has not got them ready ; I will transmit them 
as soon as 1 can get them. The bill for recruiting the army holds 
out every inducement to the men to enlist. We found the method 
of drafting men. though the best, was the most disagreeable ; we 
therefore determined to give them every inducement to enlist, 
and if that fails, we shall adopt some kind of draft. 

I am sorry to inform you that, great as the advantages are, I 
am afraid they will not have the desired effect. Our countrymen 
appear to be totally changed. The military ardor, which dis- 
played itself in Virginia in the beginning of this dispute in a dis- 
tinguished manner, appears to be almost extinguished. This 
little paltry trade among us has engrossed the attention of all 
orders of men, and has increased the price of labor to such an 
exorbitant degree that a soldier can not be enlisted. It may ap- 
pear extraordinary, but is very true, that officers are as difficult 
to get as men ; I mean good ones. The governor has been 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 549 

obliged to advertise for officers to fill up our state troops, and 
from the few applications has been obliged to make a very indif- 
ferent choice. There was a bill brought into the house for regu- 
lating trade, which, I am confident, would have been productive 
of good consequences ; but it had too many friends in the house 
to let it be injured. The bill was thrown out. 

Our delegation to Congress, I am sorry to say, is not so good 
as I could wish, or as we might have had, if the act for prevent- 
ing members of Congress sitting in the assembly had been re- 
pealed. A bill for that purpose was brought in and shared the 
same fate with the other. I have often wislied my colleague had 
been present ; we might have prevented this evil. He is most 
inexcusable in staying away. He got as far as Colonel Black- 
burn's and heard the house had broken up. If that act had been 
repealed, our delegation would have been very respectable. 

I mentioned in my last the arrival of a fifty-gun ship from 
France. She has brought the most valuable cargo that ever ar- 
rived in one ship. The governor had made a very advantageous 
bargain with the captain ; but some scoundrels persuaded the 
captain he had sold his goods too cheap, and he was off the bar- 
gain. I have since heard the governor has made a second bar- 
gain. The cloth on board alone cost 80,000 pounds sterling. 
There are 4,000 suits ready made ; 20,000 pairs of stockings ; 
15,000 pairs of shoes ; 7 or 8,000 hats ; several thousand shirts 
ready made ; besides, a great quantity of linen. She has a great 
deal of Burgundy and claret, first quality, and other wines. Her 
cargo, the governor told me, cost five millions of livres. The 
ship goes out a letter-of-marque, if war should be declared be- 
tween France and England, with fifteen thousand hogsheads of 
tobacco on board. The state has more than that number on 
hand, which was chiefly bought at twenty-five shillings. The 
tobacco is to be delivered along side the ship at four pounds per 
hundred. We shall, by this means, get the goods on good terms. 
This cargo is sufiicient to clothe our quota without purchasing 
any more, and will prevent the emission of more money for this 
purchase. 



550 ATPENDIX. 

I was so unlucky as not to receive your letter in answer to 
mine by Mr. Washington ; and I intended to write you fully my 
plan in selling my land, by tins post ; but, as I have already ex- 
ceeded the bounds of moderation in the length of my letter, I 
must defer it to the next post, and remain, as I have ever been, 
your most affectionate, J. P. Custis. 



J 



[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS. ] 

I THANK you for your cordial and affectionate congratulations 
on our late success at Monmouth, and the arrival of the French ^ 
fleet at the Hook. The first might, I think, have been a glorious 
day, if matters had begun well in the morning ; but, as the court- 
martial, which has been sitting upward of a month for the trial 
of General Lee, is not yet over, I do not choose to say anything 
on the subject, further than that there evidently appeared a capi- 
tal blunder, or something else, somewhere. The truth, it is to be 
hoped, will come out after so long an investigation of it. If it 
had not been for the long passage of the French fleet, which pre- 
vented their arrival till after the evacuation of Philadelphia — 
or the shallowness of the water at tlie entrance of the harbor at 
New York, which prevented their getting in there — one of the 
greatest strokes might have been aimed that ever was ; and, if 
successful, which I think would have been reduced to a moral cer- 
tainty, the ruin of Great Britain must have followed, as both 
army and fleet must, undoubtedly, have fallen. Count D'Estaing, 
with his squadron, are now at Rhode Island, to which place I 
have detached troops, and hope soon to hear of some favorable 
adventure there, as an attempt will be made upon the enemy at 
that place. 

After the battle of Monmouth, I marched for this place, where 
I have been encamped more than a fortnight. We cut off, by 
the present position of the army, all land supplies to the city 
of New York, and had the best reasons to believe that tho 
troops there were suffering greatly for want of provisions i 
but the French fleet, leaving the Hook, opens a door to the sea, 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 551 

through which, no doubt, they will endeavor to avail them- 
selves. 

Give my love to Nelly, Colonel Bassett, and the rest of our 
friends, and be assured that I am, with sincere regard and affec- 
tion. Yours, Geo. Washington. 



\ 



[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] ' / 

Fredericksbukg, in the State or New York, 
October 12, 1778. 

Dear Sir : I have now, at your request, given my full consent 
to the sale of the lands which I hold, in right of dower, in a 
tract in the county of York ; to a water grist-mill thereon ; to 
lots in the city of Williamsburg, and others in Jamestown ; as 
also to your renting, or otherwise disposing of the other dower 
land and slaves which I am possessed of in the county of King 
William, upon the terms which have been specifically agreed 
and subscribed to. But I should think myself wanting in that 
friendship and regard which I have ever professed for and en 
deavored to evince toward you, were I to withhold my advice 
from you with respect to the disposal of them. 

A moment's reflection must convince you of two things : first, 
that lands are of permanent value ; that there is scarcely a pos- 
sibilty of their falling in price, but almost a moral certainty of 
their rising exceedingly in value. And, secondly, that our paper 
currency is fluctuating, that it has depreciated considerably, and 
that no human foresight can, with precision, tell how low it may 
get, as the rise or fall of it depends upon contingencies which 
the utmost stretch of human sagacity can neither foresee nor 
prevent. These positions being granted (and no one can gainsay 
the justice of them), it follows that, by parting from your lands-, 
you give a certainty for an uncertainty, because it is not the 
nominal price — it is not ten, fifteen, or twenty pounds an acre — 
but the relative value of this sum to specie, or something of sub- 
stantial worth, that is to constitute a good price. The inference, 
therefore, I mean to draw, and the advice I shall give in conse- 
quence of it, is this, that you do not convert the lands you now 



552 APPENDIX. 

hold into cash faster than your present contract with the Alex- 
anders, and a certain prospect of again vesting it in other lands 
more convenient, requires of you. This will be treading upon 
sure ground. It will enable you to discharge contracts already 
entered into, and, in effect, exchange land for land ; for it is a 
matter of moonshine to you, considered in that point of view 
simply, how much the money depreciates, if you can discharge 
one pound with another, and get land of equal value to that you I 
sell. But far different from this is the case of those who sell 
for cash and keep that cash by them, put it to interest, or re- 
ceive it in annual payments ; for, in either of these cases, if our 
currency should unfortunately continue to depreciate in the man- 
ner it has done in the course of the last two years, a pound may 
not, in the space of two years more, be worth a shilling, the dif- 
ference of which becomes a clear loss to the possessor, and 
evinces, in a clear point of view, the force and efi&cacy of my ad- 
vice to you to pay debts, and vest it in something that will retain 
its primitive value ; or rather, in your case, not to part with that 
thing of value for money, unless it be with a view to the invest- 
ing it in something of equal value ; and it accounts, at the same 
time, for the principle upon which I act with respect to my own 
interest in the dower-lands ; for I should be wanting to myself, 
and guilty of an inexcusable act of remissness and criminal in- 
justice to your mother not to secure an equivalent for her re- 
leasement of dower ; and this might be the case of a nominal 
sum that had no relative value to the thing in question, and 
which, eventually, might be a means of giving away the estate ; 
for it is not the number of pounds, but the worth and what these 
pounds will fetch, that is to stamp the value of them. Four hun- 
dred pounds in paper dollars now is, and, I suppose, at the time 
of parting with this dower, may be worth one hundred pounds 
in specie ; but, two years hence, one hundred pounds [p. specie 
may be worth, and will fetch, one thousand pounds of paper. It 
can not be reasonable or just, therefore, to expect that I, or your 
mother (if she should be the survivor), should lose this, when no 
person, I believe, will undertake to give it as an opinion that the 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. T. CUSTIS. 553 

value of the dower will decrease, but the direct contrary, as 
lands are increasing in their price every day. This, if you will 
follow the advice here given, can not be the case with you, let 
money depreciate as it will, because with a pound you pay a 
pound in discharge of a purchase already made, and for those to 
be made you can regulate your sales by your purchases. 

It may be said that our money may receive a proper tone 
again, and in that case it would be an advantage to turn lands, 
<fec., into cash for the benefit of the rise. In answer to this, I 
shall only observe that this is a lottery ; that it may, or may not, 
happen ; that, if it should happen, you have lost nothing; if it 
should not, you have saved your estate, which, in the other case, 
might have been sunk. Hence it appears that you may play a 
good and sure game, so far as it relates to yourself, and, as far as 
it respects me, the advantage is wholly on your side ; for in- 
Btance, if the difference between specie and paper at this time is 
as four to one, and next year is eight to one, it makes no differ- 
ence to you, because the presumption is that tobacco, corn, and 
other produce, will rise in proportion to the fall of the money, 
and fetch in quantity what it lacks in quality. But, on the other 
hand, if the interest was to be fixed at the present difference of 
four to one, and should hereafter become as one to one (that is 
equal), I should get four times as much as I am content to re- 
ceive, and you would lose it ; from hence, as before, you may 
gain, and can not lose, while I get the simple value of the estate, 
and can neither gain nor lose, which is all I aim at by fixing the 
value of the dower in specie, to be discharged in any money cur- 
rent in the country at the time of payment, at the prevailing ex- 
change or difference between specie and paper. It may possibly 
be said that this is setting up a distinction between specie and 
paper, and will contribute to its depreciation. I ask if there is 
a man iji the United States that does not make a distinction 
when four to one is the difference, and whether it is in the power 
of an individual to check this evil when Congress, and the 
several assemblies, are found unequal to the task? Not to re- 
quii'e, or contract for, the actual payment in specie, but <"o keen 



554 APPENDIX. 

this as much out of sight as possible, in common cases that are 
to have an immediate operation, is all that can be expected ; 
but, in a bargain that may exist for tvventy years, there should 
be something to insure mutual advantage, which advantage, 
though every man can judge of in the transactions of a day, no 
one can do it when it is to be extended to years, under the pres- 
ent fluctuating state of our paper bills of credit. 

My design in being thus particular with you, is to answer two 
purposes : first, to show my ideas of the impropriety of parting 
with your own lands faster tlian you can invest the money in 
other lands (comprehending those already purchased) ; and, 
secondly, to evince to you the propriety of my own conduct in 
securing to myself and your mother the intrinsic value, neither 
more nor less, of the dower-estate. I have only one piece of ad- 
vice more to give, and that is, to aim rather at the exchange than 
sale of your lands ; and I think, among those gentlemen men- 
tioned in a former letter, you may find chapmen. I am with 
very sincere regard. 

Your affectionate friend and servant, 

Geo. Washington. 

To Parke Custis, Esq. 

["WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] 

Fredericksburg, New York, October 26, 1778. 

Dear Jack : If my brother, to whom the enclosed is addressed, 
should not be a member of assembly, and in Williamsburg, I 
should be glad if you would continue it to him by a safe hand. 

The enemy still continue to keep us in suspense and baffle all 
conjecture — they have five or six thousand men at this time ac- 
tually on board transports, lying in New York bay ; and a fleet 
of more than a hundred sail left the Hook on the twentieth 
instant for England ; said to contain 'invalids, officers of the 
reduced corps, &c. 

This fleet comprehended empty provision ships, merchant ships, 
and private adventurers, taking the benefit of a convoy ; at 
the same time Admiral Byron with fourteen or fifteen sail of the 
line, and some frigates, sailed from the Hook, with the design, 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 555 

as is supposed, to blockade the French squadron at Boston, and 
keep them shut in there till the transports can get advanced to 
their respective places of destination. 

It still remains a matter of great uncertainty, whether the 
enemy mean to evacuate New York or not. I do not myself 
think they will, but can give no better reason for their staying 
than that they ought to go — their uniform practice is to run 
counter to all expectation. I am, therefore, justified in my con- 
clusion in the present instance. 

I forgot when you were here to desire that you would let your 
vessel bring up to Mount Vernon all the nails and other stores 
which had been imported for the use of my plantation at Clai- 
borne's, and not delivered out. These I shall want myself. 
The nails are of great importance to me. 

My love to Nelly, if with you, and compliments to all friends. 
Sincerely and affectionately, I am yours, 

Geo. Washington. 

P. S. — When you come, or send to Mount Vernon, let my mare 
be brought. 



n I , [WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS. 1 

Pis i-.M 

^-^ ■ Fredericksburg, October 30, 1778. 

Dear Sir ; The letter herewith sent for Mr. Hill is left open 
for your perusal ; after reading which, seal and cause it to be 
safely delivered. He will find my sentiments fully expressed, 
and I hope will make no further appeals to me on the subject of 
his wages. 

You had better take the whole crop of corn, fodder, <fec., so 
soon as measured, at such a price as Colonel Bassett shall fix, 
and if the same thing was done respecting the wheat, it would 
be best also to avoid a divided interest, and distracting the 
attention of the overseer between your property and mine, in 
order to keep it separate on the plantation, and in the sale of it. 
The tobacco I expect, and hope you will positively direct Daven- 
port to carry to the warehouse as soon as possible, that it may 
not be wasted, or in any degree be injured by keeping it on hand. 

When it is inspected, it is my wish that his share be immo- 



556 APPENDIX. 

diately given to him, and my part put into the hands of Colo- 
nel Bnssett, to be sold at such times, and for such prices as 
his judgment shall direct. If you do not incline to take the com 
and wheat upon the terms mentioned before, I beg that it be im- 
mediately sold, so soon as it is out of the shuck and straw ; as I 
would not wish to have it lay in barns or corn-houses five days 
my property, in expectation of a good market, if it can be toler- 
ably well sold at the time and in the manner I have mentioned, 
having little expectation that Davenport, after his connection 
with me ceases, will give that attention to my property as he 
would to those on whom he immediately depended for his place 
and employment. The cotton, I presume, your mother will 
want ; it should therefore be^got in order to come round when 
you shall find occasion to send your vessel to Potomac. 

We are yet in a state of suspense respecting the enemy's in- 
tentions of evacuating New York wholly, or in part ; circum- 
stances daily arising to justify one in the adoption of either 
opinion. A considerable embarkment of troops has actually 
taken place, and is still continuing. One hundred and fifty 
transports are now at the Hook ready for sea. A few days, 
therefore, must, I should think, develop Sir Harry's designs. I 
have no doubt, as I have mentioned in ray former letter, that the 
West Indies is their object. My love to Nelly, and compliments 
to all friends. I am yours, affectionately. 

Geo. Washington. 

[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] 

Philadelphia, January 2, 1779. 

Dear Sir: Your letter of the twelfth of last month from 
Williamsburg is got safe to hand, and I am obliged to you for 
the deed which you have got from the secretary's oflBce in Rich- 
mond, and purposed bringing to Lund Washington. 

You say, I shall be surprised at the slow progress made by 
your assembly in the passage of the bills through both houses. 
I really am not, nor shall I, I believe, be again surprised at any- 
thing ; for it appears to me that idleness and dissipation seems 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 557 

to have taken such fast hold of every body, that I shall not be at 
all surprised if there should be a general wreck of everything. 

From my former knowledge of Finney, and what you said 
(when at camp) of his conduct respecting a contract for corn, I 
could not help mentioning the matter to the quartermaster-gen 
oral, who wishes to know the precise circumstances of the case, 
that he may take measures accordingly. If my memory has not 
failed me, you said that Finney agreed to give Mr. Geo.. Webl) 
40s. a barrel for some certain quantity, or all that he could pur- 
chase, and that Webb immediately sent, or rode up York river 
himself and purchased the corn at 25s. or 30s. a barrel. 

If this is a fact, and if I recollect right, you spoke of it with- 
out reserve, it is such a violent imposition upon the public, and 
such a proof of his indolence, to say no worse of it, and unfitness 
for such a place of trust as to remove him from office. I would 
not have you say more of him than you know can be proved, lest 
it should recoil. I think you mentioned some other circumstance 
relative to a contract of Finney with Mr. Braxton. Let me 
hear from you by the first post on this subject. My love to 
Nelly and the children. Your mother will, I expect, write to 
you, as she is with me here, and well. Yours, affectionately, 

Geo. Washington. 

[WASHINGTON TO CXTSTIS.] 

^ West Point, November 10, 1779. 

Dear Sir: Your letter of the seventh of last month came 
duly to hand, and should have been acknowledged sooner, but 
for the load of business which has pressed upon me of late. 

With respect to the valuation of the cattle (by Colonel Bas- 
sett), you had of me last fall, I do not conceive there will be 
real occasion for any dispute. I want nothing but justice, and 
as you declare your willingness to do this, we can not disagree ; 
but, as the matter was confided to Colonel Bassett, it will, in 
point of respect, if nothing more, be necessary to know upon 
what principle he made the valuation, which, when obtained, I 
shall be able to give you a decisive answer ; and as you are now 



558 APPENDIX. 

together, you can request him to favor me with the reasons that 
governed him in this business. However you may liave under- 
stood it, I do not conceive that it ever was my promise or inten- 
tion that you should have picked and culled the cattle ; and if it 
was done, you surely can not wish to fix the valuation of the 
refuse^ as a criterion for the appraisement of the chosen; con- 
sequently, the prices annexed to those which were left on the 
plantation can be no just rule for estimating the value of those 
of better quality which were brought off. The remainder of a 
small stock of cattle, after selecting forty-eight head of the best, 
may be of little worth, while the number chosen may be very 
valuable, and is so much opposed to the separation of them, that 
I think there must have been a misunderstanding if you conceive 
that I agreed to your culling the stock. My idea of the matter, 
as far as recollection can carry me, is, that you were to take the 
whole at an appraised value, or the whole was to be sold at 
public auction. The whole would have invited purchasers and 
competitors, but a few of the refuse must have brought on deri- 
sion and resentment if people had been assembled at a sale of 
them. When you can get Colonel Bassett to state his sense of 
the matter to me, I shall be able to determine finally and with- 
out delay. 

We have waited so long in anxious expectation of the French 
fleet at the Hook, without hearing anything from it, or of it, 
since its first arrival at Georgia, that we begin to fear that some 
great convulsion in the earth has caused a chasm between this 
and that state that can not be passed ; or why, if nothing is done, 
or doing, are we not informed of it ? There seems to be the strang- 
est fatality, and the most unaccountable silence attending the 
operations to the southward that can be conceived — every mea- 
sure in this quarter is hung in the most disagreeable state of 
suspense — and despair of doing anything, advanced as the season 
IS, and uncertainty of the count's co-operating to any extent, if 
he should come, is succeeding fast to the flattering ideas we but 
lately possessed. 

Nothing new has taken place since the evacuation of Rhode 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 559 

Island, excepting a preparation of transports at New York, suf- 
ficient for the embarkation of about four thousand men, which, 
it is said. Lord Cornwallis is to command. The destination 
of them is at present unknown, but conjectured to be for the 
West Indies. 

Eemember me affectionately to your uncles Bassett and Dan- 
dridge, and our other friends in that quarter, and be assured 
that I am, with great regard and much truth, yours affectionately. 

Geo. Washington. 



^ 



[■WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] 

West Point, Au//ust 24, 1779. 

Dear Sir: In answer to your letter of the 11th inst., I can- 
didly acknowledge I am at a loss what advice to give you, with 
precision, respecting the sale of your estate upon the eastern 
shore ; but, upon the whole, in the present uncertain state of 
things, should, were I in your place, postpone the measure a 
while longer. 

Your own observation must have convinced you of the rapid 
depreciation of the paper currency in the course of the last 
ten months, and this it will continue to do till there is a stop put 
to further emissions, and till some vigorous measures are adopted 
by the states respectively and collectively to lessen the circula- 
ting medium. You must be sensible that it is not forty thousand 
pounds, nor four hundred thousand, nor any nominal sum what- 
ever, that would give you the value of the land in Northampton. 
Instance your unfortunate sale of the York estate to Colonel 
Braxton for twenty thousand pounds, which, I suppose, would 
now fetch one hundred thousand pounds, and, unless for the 
purpose of speculating in that or some other article, this sum, I 
am persuaded, would be refused by that gentleman. The present 
profit of your land on the Eastern shore may be trifling — nay, I 
will admit that, at this time, it is an encumbrance to you — but 
still it retains in itself an intrinsic and real value, which rises 
nominally in proportion to the depreciation, and will always be 
valuable, if (admitting the worst) the money should cease to 



560 APPENDIX. 

pass. But, though the event is not probable, I will suppose that 
to be the case, or that it should continue to depreciate, as it has 
done, for the last ten months, where are you then ? Bereft of 
your land, and in possession of a large sum of money that will 
neither buy victuals nor clothes. 

There are but two motives which ought, and, I trust, can, in- 
duce you to sell : the one is to invest the money in the purchase 
of something else of equal value immediately ; the other, to place 
it in the public funds. If the first is your object, I have no hesi- 
tation in giving my opinion in favor of the sale ; because lands 
at so great a distance from you never will be profitable, and your 
only consideration is to be careful in your bargains elsewhere, 
making the prices of the thing sold and the things bought cor- 
respond vtdth respect to times and places. In fact, this is but 
another name for barter or exchange ; but, when the other is 
your inducement, the whole matter turns upon the credit and 
appreciation of the money, and these again upon financing, loans, 
taxes, war, peace, good success, bad success, the arts of design- 
ing men, mode of redemption, and other contingent events, which, 
in my judgment, very few men see far enough into to justify a 
capital risk ; consequently you would be playing a hazardous, 
and possibly, in the issue, a ruinous game, for the chance of hav- 
ing sold at the turn of the tide, as it were, when there is not 
much fear of foregoing this advantage by any sudden apprecia- 
tion of our money. In a word, by holding your land a few 
months longer, you can only loose the taxes ; by selling, to place 
the money in the fund, you may lose considerably. Selling to 
buy, as I have before said, I consider as an exchange only ; but 
then both bargains should be made at the same time. This was 
my advice to you before, and I now repeat it; otherwise the 
purchases you have in contemplation may rise fifty per cent, be- 
tween your sale and the final accomplishment of them. 

I observe what you say also respecting payment of your old 
bonds, and have less scruple in giving it to you as my opinion 
that you are not bound, in honor or by any principle of reason 
or love to your country, to accept payment of such as are upon 



LETTEKS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 561 

demand, and were given preTious to the contest and to the de- 
preciation of the money at the present nominal value of it, by 
which a just debt, and where great indulgences have been shown 
the creditor in forbearance, is discharged at the rate of a shil- 
ling in the pound. Every man who is a friend to the cause is to 
receive the money in all payments, and to give it a circulation 
as free as the air he breathes in ; but it is absurd and repugnant 
to every principle of honor, honesty, and common sense, to say 
that one man shall receive a shilling in the pound of another for 
a just debt when that other is well able to pay twenty shillings, 
and the same means which enabled him to pay the one formerly 
will enable him, with as much ease, to pay the other now. 

It is necessary for me to premise that I am totally unac- 
quainted with your laws on this head, and the consequences of a 
refusal. I am only arguing, therefore, in behalf of the reason 
and justice of my opinion, and on the presumption that all law 
is founded in equity. The end and design, therefore, of this (if 
there is such a one as compels payment under certain penalties 
and forfeitures) could only be to give credit and circulation to 
the bills in all payments, not to enrich one man at the ruin of 
another, which is most manifestly the case at present, and is such 
a glaring abuse of common justice that I can not but wonder at 
the practice obtaining. 

Our affairs, at present, put on a pleasing aspect, especially in 
Europe and the West Indies, and bids us, I think, hope for the 
certain and final accomplishment of our independence. But, as 
peace depends upon our allies equally with ourselves, and Great 
Britain has refused the mediation of Spain, it will puzzle, I con- 
ceive, the best politicians to point out with certainty the limita- 
tion of our warfare. 

Experience, which is the best rule to walk by, has, I am told, 
clearly proved the utility of having the ditch for draining of sunken 
grounds on the inside, and at a considerable distance (for instance, 
two shovels' throw) from the bank, consequently is a better crite- 
rion to judge from than the simple opinion of your ditcher, who 
may govern himself by the practice of other countries that will not 

36 



562 APPENDIX. 

apply to tlie circumstance of this, when there may be enemies to 
our banks unknown, perhaps, to them. 

We have given the enemy another little stroke in the sur- 
prise of Powles-hook* (within cannon-shot of New York), and 
bringing off seven officers and one hundred and fifty-one men, 
commissioned officers and privates. This was a brilliant trans- 
action, and performed by a detachment of Virginians and 
Marylanders, under the command of Major Lee,t o^ the light 
dragoons, with the loss of not more than ten or a dozen men. 
The colors of the garrison were also brought off. 

Remember me affectionately to Nelly and the children ; give 
my compliments to any inquiring friends, and be assured that, 
with the truest regard, I am yours, 

Geo. Washington. 

[OUSTIS TO WASHINGTON.] 

Mount Vernon, October 2&, 1779. 

Honored Sir : Your two letters, of the 20th ult., were hand- 
ed to me by Colonel Hooc, on my way from Eltham. I am much 
obliged to you for your kind advice respecting the sale of ray 
land in King and Queen. My principal reason for wanting to 
sell it soon, is this : the houses are now in good repair, and will 
sell better on that account ; the land is too mean to make it 
worth my while to keep negroes there with a prospect of mak- 
ing a crop, when I could employ them otherwise to more advan- 
tage. It would not do for me to leave the house and plantation 
without some one to take care of them. They would, in that 
case, be soon in such a situation that would make them sell for 
less than they would now do. I have fixed upon three pounds 
per acre as my lowest price, which I believe I shall get, and 
perhaps more. I am in hopes to purchase F. Foster's land for 
the money I sell my land for, which will be the greatest addi- 
tion to my estate in N. Kent. My being so unlucky in not 
receiving your letter before I left Williamsburg, prevented mv 

* Paulus's Hook, now Jersey City. 

t Miijor Henry Lee ; afterward governor of Virginia. 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 563 

applying to Mr. Wythe about drawing the deed between us ; but, 
as a delay in this matter will not be productive of bad conse- 
quences, and from the favorable reports circulating among us, I 
am in hopes shortly to hear that Howe is in the same situation 
with Burgoyne, which I pray God may happen, I shall once 
more have the pleasure of seeing you at Mount Yernon, when we 
shall have leisure to settle this matter. But if this desirable event 
should not happen, I intend myself the pleasure of visiting camp 
shortly, and we may then have an opportunity of doing this 
business. 

I believe I shall be obliged to postpone settling the rent of 
your plantation in King William until that wished-for period, 
as mamma seems to have some objections to renting it during 
her life, and it would not answer my purpose to rent it on any 
other terms. When I first wrote to you, I thought she had no 
objections ; but, since I received your letter, I have talked 
to her on that subject, and it does not appear to be perfectly 
agreeable to her to part with the place altogether during life. 
When I wrote to you, I was at some loss how to employ those 
hands that now work on the King and Queen land to advan- 
tage ; but, since that time, I have fallen on a plan of employing 
them in making meadows, which, I think, will turn out to as much 
advantage as anything I can set them about. I am very sorry 
to inform you that I am afraid your stock can not possibly escape 
the distemper another summer ; indeed, I am so thoroughly con- 
vinced of it that I am determined, as the most prudent method, to 
sell all my cattle that have not had the distemper, and get those 
that have had it, both in N. Kent and King and William. The 
distemper has killed fifty odd head for Mr. Dandridge, and sev- 
eral for Mr. Braxton. It is a miracle we escaped this summer ; 
we can hardly expect to do it another, as the malady is on each 
side of us. 

Our neighbor. Colonel Mason is preparing a remedy against 
the depreciation of our money, which I think will do him great 
credit. He is preparing a bill for a general assessment on all 
property, by which he will draw in .£5,000,000 per annum. His 



564 APPENDIX. 

valuation of property is very low, which will render his plan 
very agreeable to the people. lie has, likewise, a plan for re- 
cruiting our army, which I tliink a very good one ; but I am 
fearful they will not succeed, by his not attending the assembly 
which met last Monday. He proposed to set off this day ; but, 
as it is a rainy day, he will be disappointed. I wish he may set 
off when the weather will permit ; his attendance in assembly is 
of the greatest importance to this state, as it was never so badly 
represented as at present, 

Nelly joins me in wishing you health, victory, and every bless- 
ing in this world, and believe me, honored sir, 

Your most affectionate, 

T. P. CUSTIS. 

[WASHINGTON TO CUSTIS.] / 

/ MoRRiSTOWN, January 20, 1780, 

Dear Custis : I should have acknowledged the receipt of your 
letter of the twelfth ult. long since, but for the many important 
matters which have claimed my attention. 

My letter which missed you on its passage to Williamsburg, 
will acquaint you (as there is little doubt of its having got to 
hand long ere this) of the footing I proposed to put the valu- 
ation of the cattle upon that you had of me. I only wished to 
hear upon what principle Colonel Bassett acted, as 1 thought it 
ungenteel to give a gentleman the trouble of performing a service 
and disregard it so much afterwards as not even to inquire upon 
what grounds he went — as I want nothing but justice, and this 
being your aim, it is scarce possible for us to disagree — but there 
is one thing which ought to be held in remembrance, and I men- 
tion it accordingly, and that is, that I should get no more real 
value for my cattle at <£40 apiece, payable in the fall of 1779, 
than I should have got at £10 the preceding fall, provided the 
money had been then paid. For example — you could have got 
two barrels of corn in 1778 for £10, and I can get no more now 
for X40. With respect to otlier things it is the same. It would 
be very hard, therefore, by keeping me out of the use of the 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 565 

money a year, to reduce the debt three-fourths of the original 
value — which is evidently the case, because the difference be- 
tween specie and paper, in the fall of 1778, was about four for 
one only — now the difference is upwards of thirty, consequently, 
ten pounds paid at that period was equal to 50s. good money ; 
but paid at this day, is not worth, nor will it fetch more than a 
dollar. Had the money been paid and put into the loan office 
at the time you say the cattle ought to have been valued, I 
should have received a proportionate interest — that is, as the 
money depreciated the nominal sum for the interest would, by a 
resolve of Congress, have increased, and I should have got the 
real value in the interest ; whereas, if you pay me XIO in loan- 
office certificates of this date for my cattle, I shall received for 
every <£10 or 50s., which is the relative worth of it, according 
to the then difference of exchange, one dollar and no more. 

These are self-evident truths ; and nothing, in my opinion, is 
more just and reasonable, if you can come at, and do fix the 
value of the cattle at what they were worth in the fall of 1778, 
and would then have been appraised at, that you should pay 
loan-office certificates of that date ; for had you paid me the money 
at that time, I should have lent it to the public, if there had 
been no other use for it, as it is not a custom with me to keep 
money to look at. 

This reasoning may, in part, be considered as an answer to so 
much of your letter of the twelfth of December, as relates to the 
payment of the annuity for the dower-estate. You do not seem 
disposed to make the just and proper distinction between real 
and nominal sums. A dollar is but a dollar, whether it passes 
in silver at 6s., or paper at £Q, or sixty pounds. The nominal 
value, or the name, is but an empty sound, and you might as well 
attempt to pay me in oak leaves, with which I can purchase 
nothing, as to give me paper money that has not a relative value 
to the rent agreed on. 

If you have been unfortunate in your crops, or in the means of 
raising money from your estate, I am sorry for it, and do not by 
any means wish to put you to an inconveniency in paying the 



506 APPENDIX. 

rent at tins time which became due the first of this month. It 
may lie till my wants, or your convenience is greater, but as it 
was certainly the expectation of us both that this annuity was to 
be raised and paid out of the produce of your crops, a moment's 
reflection and calculation must convince you that it id full as 
easy to do it at this day (if you have those crops) as at any 
'period before or since the war began, because the difference be- 
tween the old and present prices of every article raised upon a 
plantation or farm, bears at least an equal proportion to the 
difference between specie and paper. It is a matter of little 
consequence then, whether you pay £oO in paper or 20s. in 
specie, when the same quantity of corn, wheat, tobacco, or any 
other article you possess will fetch the former with more ease 
now, than it would the latter in the best of times. 

The fact is, that the real difference between the prices of all kinds 
of country produce now and before the war, is greater than between 
specie and paper. The latter, in Philadelphia, being about thirty, 
when it is well known that the former, in many things, is at 
least a hundred, and in scarce any article less than forty. Wit- 
ness flour, wheat, Indian corn, &c., which are the great articles 
of produce of every Virginia estate. It is the unusualness of 
the idea, and high sound which alarms you in this business ; for 
supposing the difference to be thirty prices, and in consequence 
you pay X 15,750, I neither get nor do you pay a farthing more 
that £525, because, as I have already observed, less corn, wheat, 
&c. will enable you to pay the former now, than it would take 
to pay the latter while they were at their old and accustomed 
prices - calling the sum, therefore, which you pay to me X15,7o0 
or £525, is a matter of moonshine, as it is the thing, not the 
name, that is to be regarded. 

I have wrote to Mr. Lund "Washington concerning Sheredine's 
point, but am in some doubt whether the strip of land will com- 
pensate the expense of the bank which must be lengthy. I have 
left it to him, however, to determine this matter, and to apply 
for the ditchers (who were about to leave you) if he should 
want them. If your banks are not properly executed, it is to be 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 567 

feared you will find more plague from the muskrats and other 
vermin than you seem to apprehend, when the warm weather re- 
turns. 

I am glad to hear that your assembly are disposed to exert 
themselves in the great work of appreciation. I heartily wish 
them success in the attempt. We have nothing new in this 
quarter. The weather has been, and now is intensely cold, and 
we are beginning to emerge from the greatest distress on account 
of the want of provisions. 

My love to Nelly and the children, and I am sincerely and 
affectionately yours, 

Geo. Washington. 

John P. Custis, Esq. 

[avashington to ocstis.] 

Peekskill, August 6, 1780. 

Deae Custis : Your letter of the 26th of July came to my hands 
yesterday, and I thank you for the account given of the proceed- 
ings of the assembly. If you had not adopted the finance scheme, 
I should have thought the omission unpardonable, as it must, in 
a manner, have set our money afloat again, when every measure 
which human policy is capable of devising ought to be adopted 
to give it a fixed and permanent value. I much fear your act 
for raising three thousand men will rather fall short than exceed 
that number, because it is our fortune to have such kind of laws 
(though most important) badly executed, and such men as are 
raised dissipated and lost before they join the army. Your 
scheme for association I must approve ; it is certainly high time 
to retrench in all kinds of extravagance, and to adopt the most 
economical plans, that, by a return to virtue, we may be the bet- 
ter able to support the war and bring it to a happy issue.* In 
consequence of General Clinton's embarking a considerable part 
of the force at New York, and sailing down the sound for 
Rhode Island, I put my troops in motion and crossed at King's 
ferry, where, assembling my whole force, was determined to 

* Mr. Custis was now a member of the Virginia house of burgesses. 



568 APPENDIX. 

make a vigorous efifort to possess myself of the city. This 
brought liiui back again, and, though I am disappointed by it, 
has answered the end of relief to the French troops at Rhode 
Island, which was the object of his destination. I am now, for 
the sake of shortening our transportation of provisions and 
forage, recrossing the river, and shall move down toward Dobbs' 
ferry till our reinforcements (not a fourth of which are yet come 
in) arrive, and the supplies which are to enable us to commence 
the operations of the campaign. 

My love to Nelly and the children, and compliments to in- 
quiring friends. I am, with much truth and sincerity. 
Your affectionate friend and servant, 

Geo. Washington. 

[WASHINGTON TO CU8TIS.] / 

jr Camp, near Dobbs' ferry, Juhj 25, 1781. 

Dear Custis : Your letter of the 11th, covering certain pro- 
posals which were made by you to Mr. Robert Alexander, came 
safe by the last post. I read the letter with attention, and, as 
far as I can form a judgment without seeing the mortgage, or 
having recourse to the original agreement, and the missives 
which may have passed, think they are founded on principles of 
liberality and justice. 

How far the pufchase on your part, and the sale on Alexan 
der's, was a matter of speculation at the time of bargaining, 
yourselves and the nature of the agreement can alone determine 
If, from the tenor of your contract, you were to pay paper 
money — if this paper money was at that time in a depreciated 
state, and the difference between it and specie fixed and proved 
— and if, moreover, Alexander, like many others, entertained 
an opinion that it would again appreciate, so as that a paper 
dollar would be of equal value with a silver one — it might be 
more just than generous (when we consider that paper is, in fact, 
worth little or nothing) to let him abide the consequences of his 
opinion by paying him in depreciated paper ; because the pre- 
sumption is that he would have made no allowance for apprccia- 



J 



LETTERS OF WASHINGTON AND J. P. CUSTIS. 569 

tion, though the former should be of equal value witli the latter, 
pound for pound. But this, as I have before observed, depends 
upon the nature of the bargain, and the light in which the mat- 
ter was understood at the time it was made by both parties. 

If the bargain was unaccompanied by particular circum- 
stances, and had no explanatory meaning, but simply imported 
that so much money was to be given for so much land, to, be 
paid on or before a certain period, it is certainly optional in you 
to discharge it at any time you please short of that period. But 
I conceive that this can only be done by an actual tender of the 
money, and that there is no legal obligation upon Alexander to 
take your bond (with any security whatever) , and that the only 
chance you have of his doing it, is the fear of losing the original 
debt, or the interest of it, by refusing the tender you propose to 
make him of X48,000 at this time ; for I lay it down as a maxim 
that no man can be compelled to change the nature of his debt, 
or alter tlie security of it, without his ow'n consent. 

I have before said, that, for want of the mortgage, or a better 
knowledge of all the circumstances attending your bargain, it is 
impossible for me to give a decided opinion. Your proposals 
appear to me to be fair and equitable ; but what views Alexan- 
der may have had, and how far he is prepared to obtain those 
views, by written or other valid proof, I am unable to say. As 
an honest man, he ought to be content with justice, and justice I 
think you have offered him. 

You may recollect that I disliked the terms of your bargain 
when they were first communicated to me, and wished then that 
you might not find them perplexing and disadvantageous in the 
issue, as I now do, that you may settle the matter witli honor 
and satisfaction to yourself. 

It gave me pain to hear that your people had been so much 
afllicted with sickness, and that you thought your son in danger. 
It would give me equal pleasure to learn that he and the rest of 
your family were restored to perfect health. That so few of our 
countrymen have joined the enemy, is a circumstance as pleasing 
to me as it must be mortify ingly decisive to them of the fallncv 



570 APrENDix. 

of their assertion, that two-thirds of the people were in their 
interest, and ready to join them when opportunity offered. Had 
this been the case, the marquis's forces, and the other one-tliird, 
must have abandoned the country.* 

I am much pleased with your choice of a governor.-}- He is 
an honest man — active, spirited, and decided, and will, I am 
persuaded, suit the times as well as any person in the state. 
You were lucky, considering the route by which the enemy re- 
treated to Williamsburg, to sustain so little damage. I am of 
opinion that Lord Cornwallis will establish a post at Portsmouth, 
detach part of his force to New York, and go with the residue 
to South Carolina. 

I returned yesterday from (with Count de Rochambeau and 
the engineers of both armies) the enemy's work near Kings- 
bridge ; we lay close by them two days and a night, without any 
attempt on their part to prevent it. They begun and continued 
a random kind of cannonade, but to very little effect. I am 
waiting impatiently for the men the states (this way) have been 
called upon for, that I may determine my plan and commence 
my operations. 

My best wishes attend Nelly (who I hope is perfectly recov- 
ered) and the little girls. My compliments await inquiring 
friends, and I am. 

Sincerely and affectionately, yours, 

Geo. Washington. 

Jno. p. Costis, Esq. 

* The Marquis de Lafayette, then in command in Virginia, opposing the inva- 
sion of Cornwallis. 
t Thomas Nelson. 



m 



GENERAL JAMES M. LING AN. 571 



NOTE H.-Paqe 61. 

GENERAL JAMES M. LINGAN. 
A FUNEEAL ORATION BY GEOEGE WASHINGTON PAEKE CUSTIS.* 

And is it left for the stranger, my friends, to speak your 
Hero's praise ? I never fed at his board, I never drank of his 
cup, nor did the cheering smile of welcome, ever meet me at his 

* This oration, in connection with an account of the funeral solemnities at George- 
town, was published in pamphlet form at Washington city, soon after its delivery. 
The explanatory notes accompanying this oration were written by the editor of the 
pamphlet at the period of its publication ; and, though deeply infused with strong 
partisan sentiments, they are valuable at this time as illustrative of the intense excite- 
ment and party rancor which culminated in the political mob at Baltimore, in which 
General Lingan and others lost their lives. These notes were originally inserted at 
the end of the oration ; for the convenience of the reader, they are herein given at the 
bottom of the pages to which they have reference. 

The editor in his preface says : " On Tuesday the first of September, 1812, funeral 
honors were paid to the memory of General James M. Lingan. While his mangled 
body, which had been vouchsafed by his murderers to one mourning relative for secret 
burial, slept in some obscure, neglected grave, the citizens of Columbia and part of the 
states of Maryland and Virginia, impressed with a just admiration of his worth, con- 
vened at Georgetown to perform the duteous offices of piety and affection, and hallow 
the memory of the illustrious dead. The notice of the projected solemnities had barely 
extended to the nearer counties, but such was the eagerness testified, wherever the 
notice reached, to do honor to the obsequies of the departed hero, that, had it ex- 
tended further, we may fairly believe the funeral train would have been worthy of an 
emperor. So numerous were the mourners, that it was found necessary to substi- 
tute for a church, which had been oi'iginally selected, a shady eminence in the neigh- 
borhood of the city." 

The procession moved from the Union hotel in the following order: "Marshals 
on horseback ; four clergymen of different denominations ; the committee of arrange- 
ment; Mr. Custis, of Arlington, the orator of the day; music; Captain StuU's rifle 
corps, commanded by Lieutenant Kurtz ; the hearse, with the horses clad in mourn- 
ing, and eight venerable pall-bearers, with white scarfs; Mr. George Lingan, the 
general's son, as chief mourner; the general's horse in mourning, led by a groom; 
family and relatives of the deceased in coaches; the wounded veteran, Miijor Mus- 
grove, who survived the midnight massacre in which his brother-soldier fell, hearing 
the general's sword, and supported by two heroes of the Revolution ; Mr. Hanson, 
and other survivors of the band who defended liberty and the press ; veteran band 
of the Revolution; strangers of distinction; citizens from the counties of Mont- 
gomery, Baltimore, Frederick, Charles, Prince George's, and St. Mary's, and from 



572 APPENDIX. 

hospitable threshold. Sure then, no partial motives can influ- 
ence the sentiments which I am about to utter. Yet as the 
brave man who fought the battles of my country's liberty, is to 

the cities of Georgetown, Washinjjton, and Alexandria; Captain Peter's troop of 
horse, commanded by Lieutenant John S. Williams; marshals on horseback. 

" The train moved to the music of a funeral direje. During its march minute- 
puns were fired from the first ship ever built in Georgetown, which was this day 
decorated with mourning flags, and named The General Lingun. Many of the stores 
were hung with black. A solemn stillness pervaded tlie streets. When the proces- 
sion reached the ground, the troops opened to receive it. Gray-headed men, who 
had long bid adieu to the bustle of public life, and whose pursuits, with their years, 
hiid ' dwindled to a narrow span,' ennobled with their presence this interesting scene. 
The effects produced by the appearance of the military — of the aged Revolutionary 
heroes, who came from all quarters to mourn for their departed brother-in arms — • 
of the weeping family of the deceased — and of those who, though covered with 
wounds, survived the tremendous massacre in which Lingan fell, was indescribable. 

" We do not regret that circumstances rendered it necessary to perform the cere- 
monies in the open air. The platform overhung by lofty oaks, among whose 
branches the venerable tent of Washington — 'The Pretorium of Virtue,' — was 
suspended for a canopy, exhibited a patriarchial simplicity which carried back the 
mind to the earlier ages of the world. Here sat clergymen of different denomina- 
tions, officers of the procession, and the orator of the d.ay. Immediately around it 
were placed the veteran band of the Revolution. The venerable Major Musgrove, 
pale and disfigured by wounds received in the massacre, took the centre, supported 
by Colonel Stuart and Major Stoddart, who had shed their best blood and devoted 
their best days in the battles of their country. The front benches were occupied by 
the family of Lingan, together with Mr. Hanson and surviving members of the band 
who had gallantly defended the rights of freemen and the liberty of the press. Near 
them, shaded by trees, an immense and brilliant assemblage of ladies and gentlemen 
from all parts of the adjacent country. The ceremonies commenced with introduc- 
tory prayers from the Reverend Mr. Addison, and concluded with appropriate pray- 
ers from the Reverend Mr. Balch. The oration of Mr. Custis was extemporaneous. 
It riveted the attention of the audience; the solemn stillness which reigned was only 
interrupted by sighs and tears." 

The tent of Washington that overhung the platform, was at that time " in good 
preserv^ation, though bearing the marks of six-and-thirt}' years' service. It should 
be remembered that the same canvass which now enjoys the calm, braved the storms 
of the Revolution, from the disastrous battle of Long island, to the glorious victory 
of Yorktown — that within this tent, the captured Cornwallis surrendered the f word 
which had wasted America, and became a guest where he had expected to have been 
a conqueror." 

" The venerable and pious widow of the general, from a special request of Mr. 
Custis, had arrived at Georgetown to attend the obsequies of her martyred husband 
On the morning of the first of September, a ruffian paraded, as if to insult the sor- 
rows of this excellent lady, before the hotel, with a bloody spear and military cap 
stained with blood, and inscribed, ' Federal Republican.' Mrs. Lingan, who had 
hitherto borne up against her griefs, now dissolved in tears, and became so over- 
powered as to be unable to leave the hotel, although many ladies offered to support 
her in the train. All her family, however, attended. 

" Toward the base and unmanly insults offered on this day of mourning, federal 



1 



GENERAL JAIVIES M. LING AN. 573 

be the subject of my praise ; as the illustrious citizen who died 
in defence of one of the dearest rights which freemen can boast, 
is to be the hero of my tale ; I can only say, my friends, that 
were my powers commensurate with my zeal, I would hope on 
this day to do honor to his memory. 

By what standard of patriotism shall we try your Lingan ? 
Shall w-e try him by the standard of modern patriots : mushrooms 
of yesterday, who have grown up from the soil, first fattened by 
the blood of heroes ? or rather, shall we try him by the illus- 
trious standard of 'seventy-six ? Look to the mighty period 
which tried men's souls ; look into the embattled ranks of liber- 
ty's host, and there will you find your Lingan ! Witness the 
dreadful combat of Long Island, where the famous Maryland 
regiment, after bearing the brunt of the day, were nearly anni- 
hilated and cut to pieces. Again behold him at the storming of 
Fort Washington, and then you may change the scene,* You 

ists, with calm dignity, declared, ' Our work, is the work of piety and peace; but if 
a dagger is raised against us, there are men, and good men enough here, to walk 
over the body of the assassin.' When told that bayonets were glittering in their 
neighborhood, it was observed, ' We are going to the tent of Washington — let it be 
the winding-sheet of his children !' " 

" Colonel Philip Stuart of Charles," who occupied a seat on the platform beside 
Major Musgrove, was " the gallant officer who led the forlorn hope of Washington's 
horse in the memorable battle of the Eutaws. The order came from tjreene to 
break the British line. Stuart, with only sixteen men, advanced to obey the gen- 
eral's command, and fell, covered with wounds, almost within his enemies, ranks. 
Lieutenant-Colonel Washington too, pressing on, fell under his dying charger, and 
was made prisoner of war. 

" On the day of the oration, Colonel Stuart, Major Stoddard, and others of the 
veteran Revolutionary band, were placed very near the orator. In Stuart it was 
plainly to be perceived that the firmness of the hero was struggling with the feelings 
of the man, till at length the hero surrendered ; and the manly tear ' which filled tha 
furrow in the veteran's cheek,' proclaimed the triumph of virtuous sympathy. 

"In the course of the day Colonel Stuart observed to Mr. Custis — 'After the 
sufferings which I have borne in my country's cause, I never expected to have wept 
again, but this mighty day has quite unmanned me.' Americans ! sure virtue tri- 
umphs when the brave man weeps !" 

* It is uncertain whether General Lingan belonged to Smallwood's or Rawling's 
regiments. The first was raised exclusively in Maryland, consisted of the flower of 
her youth, and might be compared with Cassar's Tenth Legion. Though over- 
powered by superior numbers, these heroes disdained to fly, and were nearly anni- 
hilated on the memorable twenty-seventh of August, '76. Rawling's rifle regiment, 
raised partly in Maryland and partly in Virginia, opposed the Hessians at the storm- 
ing of Fort Washington, and with unerring weapons did great execution. Lingan, 



574 APPENDIX. 

have yet only vic^vcd your friend, the gallant soldier in the tented 
field. You must now behold him the wretched prisoner in the 
dungeons of the prison-ship ! * There while listening to the 
groans of expiring humanity ; there while beholding his brave 
brethren dying by inches in all the horrors of captivity and 
want, well might your Lingan say — " Sweet, my country ! 
should be thy liberties, when they arc purchased at this mon- 
strous price !"t 

Yes, my friends, of that very prison-ship was your Lingan a 
sufferer, which, even at this late time of day, excites the warmest 
sensibilities in the American bosom. You have seen our breth- 
ren perform a pious pilgrimage to the spot where the victims 
were slain — you have seen them rake up the bones which 
six-and-thirty years had bleached, and inter them with all the 
pomp and solemnity of woe.J Ay, and T trust that ray country 
will yet find a tear to hallow the memory of the brave old man, 



at the battle of Long Island, finding his corps giving way, displayed the noblest 
intrepidity and finally succeeded in bringing them to the charge. 

* The horrors of the prison-ship need not be told at this time of day. It was in- 
deed " the bourne from whence" scarce " traveller returned." Lingan, with many 
of his brave associates-in-arms, were removed to the Jersey shortly after the surrender 
of Fort Washington. Faint from his wounds, and almost perishing under the mag- 
nitude of his many suflPerings, the generous soldier yet felt for others ; and when, oa 
the death of one of his companions a coffin being brought which proved too short, 
the guard proposed to cut off the head of the deceased and put it in with the body, 
Lingan, fired at the indignity offered to a deceased fellow-prisoner, rose from his 
couch of pain, and laying his hand upon the lifeless corpse of the departed soldier, 
swore he would destroy the first man who dared to mutilate the body of his friend. 

t The venerable relict of Lingan has often said, since his lamented death — "Lin- 
gan loved liberty. He would often point to the picture of the benign goddess of 
freedom which adorns his house, and in admiring the shadow would remember the 
sufferings which he had borne to procure the substance. He considered liberty as 
his child, and in fighting for liberty, felt as if he fought in defence of his owu off- 
spring." 

t In New York, three or four years since, the bones of thousands of Americans 
who had perished on board the Jersey prison-ship, were collected from the beach ; 
appropriate orations were delivered, and the bones were attended to a previously 
prepared monument by an immense procession. The health of Lingan, one of the 
few who survived these unfortunate soldiers, was so much injured by his suH'erings 
on board the Jersey, that he was reduced by a dreadful rheumatism for many months 
subsequent to a stiite of entire helplessness. And yet, the very party by which Lin- 
gan is now called a " Tory,' erected a monument and proclaimed the virtues of hii 
companions in persecution. " Tempora mutantur et nos inutamur in illis." 



GENERAL JAMES M. LING AN. 575 

who died in defence of one of the dearest rights those immortal 
sufferings have procured ! 

When the war had ended, your Lingan retired to the shades 
of domestic life ; happy in the conscientious reflection, that his ser- 
vices and sufferings had contributed to rear the temple of rational 
freedom, to found the glorious empire of laws. There, in the 
relative duties of a father, a master, a neighbor, and a friend, 
was the gallant veteran most nobly distinguished. Say, ye who 
best can tell, was he not the kind indulgent parent ? the good hus- 
band ? the faithful friend ? the upright honorable man ? " If 
there be any one in this assembly who will deny this praise, now 
let him speak, for him have I offended ;" and if it were further 
necessary to inquire into the merits of this excellent man, know 
that they were stamped with a seal which bore the name of 
Washington ! Yes, my friends, your Lingan and your Williams 
were each appointed in the early formation of the government, 
to offices of honor and trust, by that immortal chief, whose unerr- 
ing judgment was never deceived, when the soldier was the ob- 
ject !* Williams, did I say ? the gallant, gay Williams of Guild- 
ford and the Eutaws ? Peace be to his ashes ! happy that he is 
gone ! for sure it would have rent his manly heart to have wit- 
nessed the melancholy end of his old brother-soldier ! f 

It has been said by some, my friends, and supposed by others, 
that the venerable Lingan was induced to engage in the enter- 
prise which terminated his life, by the arts and intrigues of de- 



* In the early periods of the government, offices were not only few in number, 
but small in value. The collectorship of such a port as Georgetown, was bestowed 
upon Lingan, not as a mean of extensive emolument, but as a testimonial of due 
remembrance and consideration. 

t General Otho Holland Williams. — This distinguished soldier was not more 
remarkable for his heroism in the field than for his elegant and manly accomplish- 
ments. Williams was taken with Lingan at Fort Washington, and, though wound- 
ed, was carried as a spectacle about the streets of New York by the tories, for the 
special amusement of his majesty's loyal subjects, and then consigned to the miseries 
of the prison-ship. Strange, that six-and-thirty years after, his venerable companion, 
grown gray in the same country's service, should, for defending " the very liberties" 
those mighty sufferings had procured, be martyred with every species of horrific 
cruelty, and his aged body left, dishonored, on the cold ground, to glut the ven- 
geance of exclusive republicans ! 



576 APPENDIX. 

signing men, contrary to the dictates of his better judgment. In 
the face of his family, his country, and the world, I deny the 
assertion ! No, my friends, the whole heart of the veteran was 
in this thing. He had seen the laws of his country prostrated at 
the feet of tyrannic power, and the liberty of the press violated, 
and usurped ! And when he saw a band of youth prepare to 
defend their rights, or perish in the breach, the soul of the vete- 
ran rejoiced. — " I admire these boys," he said, " their heroic 
ardor reminds me of my other days — I will join their gallant 
calling — age and experience will be useful to temper their valor, 
to moderate their zeal, to direct their energies. I will be the 
Nestor to the young Achilles." 

When, after a brave defence, our brethren had laid down their 
arms, and submitted to the constituted authorities of their coun- 
try, mercy and generosity should have been shown to submission. 
They are the privileges of the brave, in every age and condition 
of society. 

'Who were these prisoners ? Were they the rakings of ken- 
nels ; were their shoes yet new, since they landed on our shores ?* 

* Major-general Henry Lee commanded the party. Lee, at the early age of 
nineteen, was devoted to liberty in liberty's battles. Greene considered him as a 
man whom nature had formed for war ; and his achievements as commander of the 
partisan corps in the southern army, were eminent and deserving. Since the 
Revolution he has filled high civil and military stations. He has distinguished him- 
self as governor of the state of Virginia, and as a member of the national legis- 
lature. His misfortunes are those of the man, while his public services derive a 
lustre from his public integrity. 

The grandfatiicr of Mr. Hanson, was appointed by the Maryland legislature a 
member of the Revolutionary Congress, and afterward became president of Congress, 
then the first magistrate of the country ; being the third elected under the old con- 
federation. Mr. Hanson's father was high in the confidence of Wasliington, resided 
a long time in iiis family, was for several years his private secretary, and was after- 
ward chosen by the general as one of his aids ; but sickness prevented him from 
accepting the otfer, although the place was several months kept open for him. 
"When the war ended, the father of Mr. Hanson was appointed judge of tlie general 
court, and afterward chancellor of Maryland, which situation ho retained until his 
decease. The father of Dr. Warfield was the first citizen of Maryland who openly 
proposed a separation from the parent-country. He also directed the celebrated 
burning of the tea in 1775, at Annapolis. Captain R. I. Crabb is the son of Gene- 
ral Crabb, one of the heroes of the Revolution. The other gentlemen are worthy 
to be ranked with the patrician youth of ancient republics. They are men of the 
first respectability ; and two of them have recently been proposed as candidates for 
the Maryland legislature. 



GENERAL JAMES M. LINGAN. 577 

or were they sons of the sires, who had fought the battles, and 
labored in the councils of their country's glory; generous scions, 
sprang from the oak which had borne the hardest blasts of 
liberty's storm ; yeomen of our land, who had grown up with the 
growth, and with the strength of freedom ? Their cause was 
holy. They knew they had done no wrong — for people of Amer- 
ica remember that when the laws of a community can no longer 
protect the citizen, the great law of nature commands him to 
protect himself! Yet, that the ends of justice might be sub- 
served — that their accusers might obtain the full measure of jus- 
tice denied to them ; these gallant heroes, consented to be car- 
ried, like malefactors, to the prison-house ! There they received 
the most solemn assurances, which honor and religion could give, 
of perfect safety and protection. Who will then believe, that in 
a few short hours, the asylum of justice — the asylum in which 
even the condemned criminal is safe — should be converted into 
the chamber of death ! 

Hide, hide my country, thy diminished head ! Thou, an em- 
pire of laws, and yet this monstrous outrage within thy bosom ! 
Thou, the seat of justice, and yet the asylum of justice with in- 
nocent blood profaned !* The weeping genius of my country, 
seeks to draw a veil before the dreadful spectacle, but an higher 
power commands that no veil shall screen this work of darkness 
from the light of truth ! 

The murder of prisoners ! Why 'tis abhorrent to nature — my 
soul sickens at the thought. Sure such hideous sin was once 
foreign to the American character ! Say, ye gray-headed men, 
veterans of liberty, and fathers of my country, when was the 
time, during our arduous struggle, that the soldier of freedom 

* It is the standard principle of our common law that a man is always innocent 
till he is proved to be guilty. When the prison-house is forced, and even those who 
are indicted for the grossest crimes, slaughtered without trial or condemnation, may 
not the asylum of justice be said to be " profaned with innocent blood?" But in 
the present case there was no indictment, not even a commitment ! All parties 
acknowledge that the Spartan band were conveyed to prison for " safety," not as 
prisoners, but guests of those who induced them to surrender. Some hours after 
their arrival a commitment was informally procured, and they were detained con- 
trary not only to the rules of law, but the laws of hospitality. 

37 



578 APPENDIX. 

stained his laurels with his prisoner's blood ! While storming 
the redoubts at Yorktown, the cry of the soldiers was, "-Re- 
member New London ;" yet, no sooner had the foe submitted, 
than mercy, divine mercy, sat triumphant on my country-'s 
colors — Ay, my friends, Hamilton and Laurens commanded 
then !* 

The murder of prisoners ! Even sanguinary France now 
cowers to our superior genius in iniquity. She is no longer 
supreme in sin. If we contemplate the tremendous scenes of her 
revolution, so widely different is the state of our society, they 
appear but as Christmas gambols to this hellish tragedy. f There | 
the tiger had long been confined within the bars of oppression. 
For centuries had he gnawed his galling chain, and thirsted for 
the blood of his oppressors ; but here, in the mild land of liberty, 
in the wise and good government, whose laws provide the punish- 
ment of crimes, great indeed must be that injury which requires 
an extra vengeance ! 

The murder of prisoners ! 'Tis true. Napoleon, the chosen 
monster of crime, first set this horrid example at Jaffa ; but even 
under his authority, the poor victims, met a speedy and merciful 
death ! The battalion, which was drawn up against them, soon 

* When the garrison at New London had surrendered to the British troops, the 
pallant Colonel Ledyard presented his sword, according to custom, to the victorious 
commander, who inhumanly returned it through his captive's body. This was the 
signal for general massacre, and many of our soldiers who had surrendered as pris- 
oners of war were immediately bayoneted on the spot. When victory next leaned 
to the American side, orders were given by the Marquis do Lafayette to retaliate 
this cruelty, and the American soldiers mounted the redoubts of Yorktown shouting, 
" Remember New London." Hamilton commanded in the light-infantry. Lieut.- 
colonel Laurens, the Bayard of the age, personally took Major Smith, the English 
commandant, a prisoner of war. The conquered Britons momently expected the 
exterminating bayonet. Our countrymen, flushed with triumph, pressed on, while 
their trembling victims fell in despair and agony at their feet. The youthful chiefs 
threw themselves between the vanquished and destruction. The victors were 
ordered to spare the prostrate enemy. Hamilton and Laurens, bred in the tent of 
Washington, disdained the savage privilege of destroying a defenceless foe, and 
showed to their country and an admiring world, that mercy is the noblest attribute 
of the brave ! 

t At the time of the French revolutionary massacres, France had, in fact, no 
government; one day a faction wielding the power; the next day cut off, and an- 
other succeeding. But even in this horrible state of society, though death speedily 
overtook the proscribed, promises of protection were still held sacred. 



GENERAL JAMES M. LINGAN. 579 

put a period to their sufferings by an immediate passport to 
eternity. 

The murder of prisoners ! Even when the Indian savage a 
prisoner takes, if he promises him protection, the poor captive is 
safe.* Nay, go further. Look to the Arab robber of the desert. 
"When he meets the wandering pilgrim in the sands, if he con- 
ducts him within his tent, the robber will die at its door in de- 
fence of his guest If Such are the examples of mercy, fidelity 
and honor which adorn even the savage life ; and yet, my coun- 
trymen, it has been left to the enlightened republic of America, 
to show more horrid examples of cruelty than ever distinguished 
the inquisition or the rack. 

Let us attend the venerable Lingan in the last moments of his 
life. When he found the inevitable fate which awaited him, that 
fortitude which had distinguished the gallant veteran in the dire- 
ful fields of the Revolution, while fighting for the liberties of his 
country, did not desert him in the closing hour. And yet, sure 
he thought, that if Americans were his foes, the sight of his 
venerable figure, bent with age, must touch their hearts ! Ah, 
Lingan ! thou hadst indeed survived thy country's better days. 
There was a time when thy venerable presence would have ar- 
rested the falling dagger, had it been grasped by an American 
hand ! What did I say ? Sure there was a time when a thou- 
sand sabres would have gleamed to defend the gray head of an 
aged soldier, sinking at the feet of an assassin ! J Alas ! those 
days are gone ! The glory of my country hath sunk into the 
grave of her chief ! 

Attend the closing scene. The old man falls ; yet feebly 
raising his wounded head, on which threescore winters had shed 

* This is notorious. The Indian never betrays after promising protection. His 
offered hand contains his plighted honor. 

t Pilgrims, and even caravans, have been known to seek the protection of pro- 
fessed robbers in the desert, and never have had cause to repent their confidence 
even in a robber's word. 

X Yes ! before America (who, in opening her arms to afford an asylum to suffer- 
ing humanity, hath opened them too wide) became gorged with filth from all the 
kennels in Europe ! The ancient republics were corrupted by the extraneous streams 
which brought pollution to the pure fountain of their liberties. 



580 APPENDIX. 

their snows, he appeals to his murderers — " Sparc the old man, 
whose years are few to live ! Spare the father, whose orphans 
will want! Spare the old soldier, whose faithful services, and 
whose hard sufferings have earned his country's liberties ! Spare ! 
Here, as if it were necessary to cap the climax of horror, to 
render the catastrophe of hell complete — know, Americans, that 
James Lingan, tlie soldier of your Washington, the patriot, the 
hero, and the friend ; the man of charity who felt for others' 
woes ; the noble example to youth ; the man of virtue, religion, 
and honor, with the foul epithet of " Tory," ringing in his ears 
— expired ! The defender of liberty disgraced by the epithet of 
" Tory ?" " That was the unkindest cut of all ! " 

Are there men in this assembly who can feel ! Now let them 
feel ! 

0, Maryland ! Would that the waters of thy Chesapeake 
could wash this foul stain from thy character. 0, Maryland ! 
Would that the recording angel who carries thy black deed to 
heaven's chancery on high, could drop a tear upon it, and blot it 
out for ever ! But no ! A voice cries from the tomb of the 
brave. It rises to the God of nature and humanity, and demands 
a vengeance on the murderer ! 

Can Montgomery boast no band of youthful patriots, who will 
redeem the remains of their venerable friend, and give them the 
rights of sepulture near his own home ? * Sure it would soothe 
the widow's sorrowing heart — sure it would soothe the orphans' 
woes ! Then go — perforin the pious task, and the applause of 
all good men speed you on your way ! Mark well my words. 
'Tis not that I would sharpen your swords to vengeance — ven- 
geance belongs to the laws ; but I would open your hearts to 
gratitude — gratitude belongs to man ! 

Shade of the venerable Lingan ! Farewell ! Accept the feeble 

* The mangled body of Lingan was exposed on the bare eartli until noon on the 
day following the murder, and then, with difficulty, obtained by a relative for secret 
burial. It now "sleeps in some obscure, neglected grave," in Baltimore. Would 
not the youth of Montgomery, the county of Lingan's former residence, perform a 
pious office in transferring the remains of their venerable friend to the sepulchre of 
his fathers ? 



GENERAL JAMES M. LINGAN. 581 

tribute of a stranger's praise ; althougli thy sun hatli sunk in the 
horizon, still, its last parting gleam sheds a benign lustre on thy 
fame. The laurel that covers thy hoary head, old man ! shall 
ever bloom with youthful verdure I Thy illustrious services in 
liberty's cause, shall rear for thee a cenotaph in each freeman's 
bosom, while thy endearing virtues will cause the ready tea»" of 
affection to freshen the turf on thy humble grave ! 

Soldier of my country ! Defender of her liberties ! Farewell ! 

Permit me, my friends, to offer you a few remarks, on the pre- 
sent state of our republic. People of America ! The liberty of 
the press is one of the noblest rights a freeman can boast. When 
the right of opinion, the liberty of speech, and the liberty of the 
press, are prostrated at the feet of lawless power, the citadel of 
of freedom must soon surrender. Yes, my friends, and that 
power which destroys these attributes of liberty, is the pioneer 
which precedes the march of despotism ! 

I well remember the good old federal times, when the Father 
of his Country, blest with his virtues our rising empire. Then 
was the majesty of the laws supreme ; then was the liberty of the 
press inviolate ; and sure, if ever there was a time, when its 
licentiousness required a curb, it was, when its slanders were 
aimed at the reputation of the first of men ! The modern Archi- 
medes of malice and ambition had upreared his mighty engines 
of calumny, to assail our chieftain's virtue !* But the great, the 
god-like Washington, had only to oppose the aegis of his integrity, 
and their shafts fell harmless to the ground. f 

* The first engines of calumny levelled against the chief were reared in the press 
of Philip Freneau, then a clerk in the department' of state. They received great im- 
provement from the scientific labors of Bache and his principal engineer, Duane, 
and were brought to perfection by James T. Callender, who betraying his employers 
the machines have since fallen into common hands. 

t Among the monstrous calumnies circulated at that time, certain letters, said to 
have been written during the Revolution and addressed by the general to members 
of his own family, were published under pretence of their having been taken with 
the baggage and servant of the commander-in-chief at Fort Lee, in 1776. These 
letters contained sentiments unfriendly to the cause of liberty. The forgery was 
apparent to all those who had served in the war, since it was notorious that the 
servant and baggage of the commander-in-chief were never taken. "Washington 
disdained to notice these incendiary attacks during his term of chief magistracy, but 



582 APPENDIX. 

Yes, people of America ! and wretched indeed is that man's 
cause, which can not be defended by his integrity ! 

Why are federalists a persecuted race ? Must they leave their 
Egypt, and under the conduct of another Moses, seek a new 
Canaan ? Can they boast of no virtues, no services, to entitle 
them to the joys of liberty's land ? 

Who reared the temple of national freedom ? Who kindled 
the sacred flame on its altars ? Whose virtues, whose services, 
have contributed to nourish that flame ? Go ! untie the scroll 
fame ! Peruse the list of American worthies, and tell me if any 
federalists are there ! Go to the hard-fought fields of the Rev- 
olution — kneel on their sacred earth, which tells no lies, and 
ask her, if, on the memorable days when we fought for liberty, 
no federal blood moistened her bosom ? Nay, persecuted as we 
are, perhaps at this moment some fearless sailor climbs the shat- 
tered mast to nail the flag of my country to its stump — my life 
on it that fellow is a federalist ! * Perhaps some gallant soldier 
may yet scale the heights of Abraham, to wreathe liberty's stan- 
dard around Montgomery's tomb — I tell you the first foot, which 
presses that classic ground, will be a federalist's! For ever live 
the glorious name our Washington bore ! For ever let his ex- 
ample inspire his children ! 

The spirit of federalism rises from the tomb of Mount Yernon: 
— and when my country shall bend under the storms of adver- 
sity, the children of Washington will show " their generous nar 
ture ;" but should those storms rock Liberty's temple to its base, 
then will the Sampson of federalism grasp the pillars, and in -his 
expiring struggles, perish with Liberty in liberty's ruins. 

Yes, Americans ! the power which made you great and free, 
independent and happy, still opens its arms to receive the prod- 
igal returned. When my country shall have been deeply stricken 
by misfortune, may she — grown wise by her experience — deter- 
when he had retired to the walks of domestic life, the illustrious citizen pave full 
proof of his innocence by exposin<r, not only the malice, but the absolute impossi- 
bility of the tale. The original letters written by the general at that period, are 
now in the possession of Mr. Custis of Arlington. 

* Two days afterward, the prophecy was fulfilled! Iluli and the cons.itution ! 



GENEKAL JAMES M. LING.iN. 583 

miue to restore the age of Washington — to render the last of 
republics immortal ! 

Did I speak of the age of "Washington ! The golden age of my 
country ! when peace, prosperity, and protection blessed our 
land ! Great is the contrast now. Attend me, friends, to tlie 
house of a federalist at this portentious period. I open you the 
door, and that too of a man who can look his country in the face, 
and say I have been thy benefactor.* Near the cradle of my 
sleeping child stands the musket and bayonet ; near the pillow' of 
my innocent wife the sharpened sabre ! and why ? Because I will 
enjoy the right of opinion, the freedom of speech, and the liberty 
of the press — these sacred privileges I inhaled with my first 
breath, and will only lose them with my last. When my parent 

* Mr. Custis has established an annual convention for the promotion of agri- 
culture and domestic manufactui'es, known throughout the country by the title of 
"Arlington sheep-shearing." Its motto, "p?-o patria semper." At Arlington 
House, under the tent of Washington, a numerous concoui'se of the most exalted 
characters in our republic, besides strangers of distinction, assemble on every 
thirtieth of April, to witness the distribution of the first prizes ever thus given in 
America, for the best specimens of sheep and domestic manufactures. After the 
prizes are assigned, Mr. Custis collects his friends at a splendid repast under the 
tent of his illustrious relative, and when the cloth is removed, commonly addresses 
them in strains of eloquence and feeling worthy of the sacred canvass which cano- 
pies his head. After appropriate toasts and other convivialities, the company dis- 
perse. The prizes offered by Mr. Custis are all at his own individual expense, 
and, together with the cost of entertaining so great a concourse, subject him to a 
very heavy annual disbursement. Besides the better part of nine years, since tha 
first " Arlington sheep-shearing," employed in the promotion of agriculture and 
domestic economy, Mr. Custis has devoted considerable pecuniary resources to the 
same noble enterprize. This purpose has been steadfastly pursued, and, notwith- 
standing the great political changes which have taken place since the thirtieth of 
April, 1803, it has kindled a fondness for the great objects which it was meant to 
promote, and convinced Americans that they may indeed be independent. The 
sheep-shearing speeches, which are before the public, will prove that no party 
motives have prompted the conduct of Mr. Custis. In one of these he remarks, 
" America shall be great and free, and minister to her own wants, by the employ- 
ment of her own resources." In another, " The citizen of my country will proudly 
appear, when clothed in the produce of his native soil." By the disinterested de- 
votion of Mr. Custis to the public good, he has illustrated the motto " Pro patria 
semper." May not such a man " look his country in the face," and exultingly ex- 
claim, " I have been thy benefactor !" " My life on it this fellow is a federalist." 

Mr. Custis had the satisfaction of being able to say, at a recent sheep-shearing, 
" My humble institution, which first taught my country to hail the sound of industry 
with independence, is growing old in its usefulness, and, as the happy parent, be- 
holds a numerous progeny arising to support its age." 



584 APPENDIX. 

■was perishing at Yorktown, he bequeathed this invaluable 
legacy to his child, and damned be the man who would relin- 
quish the rights obtained by a parent's sufferings ! * 

0, Washington ! discerning man ! well indeed didst thou fore- 
see thy country's fallen destiny ! As a father didst thou warn 
thy children of the precipiece to which they were approaching. 
Yes, as thy country's guardian angel didst thou stand on the 
brink and point to the abyss below.f Thy sun hath sunk in the 
west, but may its last parting gleam still serve to light us in our 
darksome course, till the sun of another Washington shall arise, 
and give to America a glorious day ! 

Weep not my brethren, that our chief is gone. Dry up your 
tears ; and thank the Author of divine mercies for having so long 
preserved our benefactor for our happiness, and at last only to 
have taken him from us when the degeneracy of his country had 
began to sorrow his declining years. J Methinks I hear his 
mighty spirit sigh in the breeze ; methinks I see his venerated 
form enshrined in glory — his opened arms receive the shade of 
Lingan.! Listen to his awful words : 

" Welcome to thy chief, thou good and faithful soldier ! Twice 
hast thou bled in liberty's cause ! Here shalt thou enjoy the 
recompense of the brave !" 

* I\Ir. Custis's father, then a memher of the military staff of "Washinj^ton, died 
near Yorktown, in 1781, from an infectious disorder received in the British camp. 
Mr. Custis, at that time an infant, was adopted into the family of Mount Vernon. 

t The discerning mind of Washington " looked quite through the deeds of men/ 
and early perceived the dangerous precipice to which the principles and conduct of 
certain persons were hurrying his devoted country. Like a guardian genius, he 
warned her of her fate, and, placing the majesty of his exalted character and exam- 
])le on the brink, sought to preserve the nation his virtues and services had rendered 
illustrious ; but all in vain ! Urged by her untoward destiny, she falls from her 
envied heiglit and sinks into " the abyss l)elow !" 

t It was about the year 1798 that Washington, being visited by Judge Marshall, 
Judge Washington, and General H. Lee, observed to these gentlemen on their de. 
parture, while standing at the western door of Mount Vernon (emblematic of the 
decline of his setting sun) — " Gentlemen, you must come forward in the nation's 
councils. The exigencies of her affairs require your good services. The most unhappy 
consequences will ensue should the principles of the party now rising into power ever 
predominate in our country. I may not live to witness these things — yoit may!" 
Marshall and Lee obeyed the patriarch's summons ; Bushrod Washington, from pecu- 
liar circumstances, was prevented. It soon after became the melancholy duty of 
Marsliall to announce his death, and the pride of Lee to proclaim his eulogy 1 



CELEBRATION OF THE RU3 TAN VICTCRIES. 585 



NOTE III.-Page 61. 

CELEBRATION OF THE RUSSIAN VICTORIES. 
AN OEATION BY MR. CU8TIS, OF AELINGTON, DELIVERED JUNE 5, 1818. 

Though feeble in health, yet being honored as your choice, I 
will humbly endeavor to execute the task which your too partial 
favor has assigned me. 

The purpose of this association is at once novel and interest- 
ing. It has heretofore been deemed a full measure of duty for 
nations to celebrate events which may have had immediate rela- 
tion to themselves ; but generous America will set to the world 
a nobler example, and, forgetting for a moment that selfish im- 
pulse which directs our feelings to our own immediate welfare, 
let us evince a laudable sympathy in the welfare of others. 

When we fought for liberty, many were the foreign bosoms 
which beat in unison with our cause. Perhaps, under the fur- 
garment of the distant Russian, America and her efforts may 
have excited that cheering warmth which virtuous bosoms nour- 
ish. Then reciprocate the generous feeling, and show to the 
world that, grateful for our own liberties, we deem it a bounden 
duty to rejoice in the liberties of others. 

Sure Americans should feel an interest in the successes of tliose 
who war for the right of self-government, whatever may be the 
clime they inhabit, and wish strength to the arm which strikes 
for national liberty, whether it wield the lance of the Cossack or 
the Highlander's claymore. 

Amid those great events, which of late years have so con- 
vulsed the civilized world, the invasion of Russia forms a most 
grand and predominant feature. It seems as if the last energies 
of Europe were aroused to this consummate struggle. Napo 



586 APPENDIX. 

leon, mighty in genius and vast in resources, like a Colossus, had 
long bestrode the European world, and, fired with the rage of 
conquest, sought to plant his standard on the banks of the Neva. 
His march is like the sirocco of the desert, spreading ruin and 
desolation around him ; his course is known by the smoke of 
villages cooling in human blood ; his triumphs are heard in the 
lamentations of human misery. The host of Prussia retires — 
all seems his prey, until, urged by high destiny, he seeks to rest 
from his labors in the palace of the czars, and finds in the flames 
of Moscow a funeral pyre for his ambition. Immortal Moscow ! 
Magnanimous people ! who, rather than their ancient capital 
should aflford to the tyrant a domicil, seize the torch and fire at 
once the altars of their God, the temples of their saints, and the 
sepulchre of their kings. And are these the people whom the 
world has been pleased to denominate barbarians ? True, the 
sun of science hath, as yet, but feebly twinkled in their frozen 
clime ; but, by heaven, this late act of theirs would have done 
honor to the most splendid era of ancient virtue — ay, it would 
have immortalized old Rome even in her Fabian age, or Lace- 
daemon in the time of Leonidas. 

Though Moscow remains but a heap of blackened ruins, still 
from its ashes may be raked a gem of purest, brightest value. I 
mean its great example, which tells to the nations of the world 
that, when a people are resolved to serve their own rulers and 
obey their own laws, among that people corruption can never 
enter, nor can tyrants subdue them. Had the Austrians, the 
Italians, or the Swiss, fired his Vienna, his Milan, or his Berne, 
Europe might have long since been saved. Their misfortunes 
have taught them a useful lesson ; but now, if, after the wisdom 
which burning Moscow has thrown upon surrounding nations, 
they are again enslaved, a long night of tyranny must over- 
shadow a despairing world. 

From the history of these events, let nations learn to place a 
firm reliance on the all-wise Disposer of human affairs, who, even 
in her darkest day, raised up for Russia, the avenger of his 
country's wrongs, the aged, the illustrious KoutusolT. This ven- 



CELEBRATION OF THE RUSSIAN VICTORIES. 587 

erable chief had been the soldier of other wars ; his spring of 
youth first budded in the fields of honor ; his meridian summer 
blazed high on the walls of Oczatchoff, and, though age may 
fade the leaf of his autumn, stern winter can never wither a leaf 
of the laurel which binds his silvery brow — it must bloom even 
amid his native snows. 

Russia, go on ! Thine own chains broken, break thou the 
the chains of others. Gray warrior of the North ! if thine aged 
frame can bear more honors, go whet thy avenging sword on the 
tomb of Suwarrow, and again thunder on the plains of Italy — 
climb the glacier steeps, where the descendants of Tell pine in 
ignominious bondage and sigh for their native liberty. Burst 
that confederation, linked only by the tyrant's power, nor furl 
thy conquering banner till it shall feel the breezes of the Rhine. 
Then pause ; give to each nation the government it may choose, 
and, retiring to the polar forests, the blessings of millions will 
cheer thy declining days, and a brilliant halo of glory encircle 
thy immortal fame. The name of Koutusoflf will not be ranked 
with the destroyers of nations, but will proudly swell the list of 
virtuous heroes, with Vasa, with Tell, with Wallace, with "Wash- 
ington, deliverers of their country and benefactors of man. Ere 
we leave the field of fame, let us pay due homage to the mem 
ory of the brave. Bagration, the prince of Russian chivalry, 
the patriot, the hero, now sleeps in the bed of honor ! But not 
unremembered hath he fallen ; for, whenever the roving Cossack 
shall gallop over Borodino's plain, his wild and warlike eye 
will rest with delight on the tumulus which contains Bagra- 
tion's ashes. 

Russia, farewell ! So long as thou shalt wield the sword of 
justice — the deliverance of nations mark the progress of thy 
march — may the eagle of victory perch on thy standard, and 
the prayers of rescued humanity speed the triumph of thine 
arms. 

Americans ! let the events which have lately distinguished the 
theatre of Europe, be held up as a mirror, in which you may 
view the fate of nations, and learn to protect your own from 



588 APPENDIX. 

those evils which have befallen so many others. Think not be- 
cause a vast ocean intervenes, the frantic ambition which has 
desolated the fairest portion of the Old World will look uncon- 
cerned toward the New. It was customary with chieftains of 
other days to pause in the high career of ambition. Rome's 
great Julius, when arrived at the rubicon, debated with himself 
whether he should pass those limits prescribed by the laws, and 
infringe on those liberties which his illustrious family had found- 
ed, and himself sworn to protect ; and " Philip's warlike son," 
when in the midst of submissive nations, listened to counsel and 
retraced his conquering steps. But what limits, what barriers, 
shall ever curb Napoleon's ambition ? Think you that he who 
hath scaled the Alps would not attempt the Andes ? And that 
mighty genius, which scared the chamois from the snowy heights 
of St. Bernard, would start the lonely condor on the cloud- 
capped summits of the Chimborazo. • 

Returning from abroad, the delighted American beholds rich 
triumphs at home. They seem like an elysian dream, from 
which we fear to awaken ; but the vision hath passed away — 
the glorious truth bursts like the morning light upon our rav- 
ished senses — and we hail with ecstacy the rising of our naval 
sun. 

Twelve months ago, could a man have been found hardy 
enough to assert that America should meet in equal combat with 
the mistress of the main, and that, too, upon her usurped element, 
and there should deal her a harder measure of battle than sho 
hath dealt even to her meanest foe, that man would have been 
called a fool. But now, my friends, the experiment has been so 
oft repeated that we have proved to our country and an admiring 
world the glorious fact, that we, too, can " march upon the moun- 
tain wave" — we, too, can share " in the empire of the deep." 

Our noble sailors have so well employed their time, that al- 
ready are they teachers of that very science in which their enemy 
has always claimed the mastership, and American seamen de- 
serve a patent-right for the destruction of armed vessels on 
principles and practice wholly their own. 



CELEBRATION OF THE RUSSIAN VICTORIES. 589 

Nay, even were great Nelson living, whose last sigh still 
dwells in glory on Trafalgar's wave, his generous soul would 
have given to his enemy the just meed of praise. 

On the outermost cliff, which overlooks the main, we should 
ered: a naval trophy, adorned with the busts of our heroes, that, 
when the future sailor-boy should thither roam, his delighted 
eye may rest on the monument of our early fame, and his youth- 
ful heart be fired with a generous emulation. 

And who have achieved these glories ? The nurslings who 
have long fed at the bosom of public bounty, and gambolled in 
the sunshine of public patronage and protection ? Say, rather, 
it is the neglected children of our Washington — they who, for 
a long, long time, have endured their country's scorn, and been 
deemed unworthy of her confidence or esteem. Yet, when dan- 
gers assail and misfortunes press hard on their native land, see 
•them, mindful of the example of their chief, forget their wrongs 
and show their generous nature. And are these the men who 
but the other day bore the hard names of traitors and of 
tories ? — and has it been left for traitors and tories to strike 
Britannia's flag upon the ocean ? My country, for shame ! 
"Will you never know your friends ? So when your old sol- 
dier died, the brave, the virtuous Lingan, these tender epi- 
thets were the cruel comforts of his parting hour ; they were 
the tender mercies offered to soothe a hero at the end of a blame- 
less life ; they were the pious blessings with which he closed his 
eyes for ever ! Americans, have you forgot this old man's 
wrongs ? There is a God of justice and humanity who may for- 
get you. Let us go back for a moment to that gloomy, yet in- 
teresting, period when, in pious assemblage, we paid our last 
duties to the memory of the brave. You must all remember 
that, while I feebly breathed my poor tribute of praise to the 
manes of the martyred Lingan, I dared to say that the hand 
which should " nail the flag of my country to the mast " would 
belong to one of those who then bore their country's odium and 
persecution. I thought I knew my brethren — knew those fel- 
lows to be of no mongrel breed, but the true, legitimate children 



690 APPENDIX. 

of our chief, and such most worthily have their deeds proved 
them to be. 

Encouraged by success in one prophecy, I prophesy again, and 
now will say that the heart which shall direct the energies of 
this great nation to the accomplishment of that high destiny the 
meritorious life of her Washington founded, must feel the prin- 
ciples and be warned by the virtues of that immortal man. 

How doth every day more and more bring to our view that 
wisdom and foresight which distinguished the Father of our 
Country — he to whose humble grave this ungrateful nation 
hath not yet rolled even one poor stone ! He first laid those 
keels which now triumphant plough the main ; he first hoisted 
that flag which now flies victorious on our conquering decks. 

How acceptable to the shade of our parent must be the glo- 
rious deeds of his children ! They rise like grateful incense to 
his departed spirit in the realms of bliss ! 

Go on, my brethren — the eye of the chief still rests on his 
beloved country ; his affections are coincident with his glory. 
However she may have forgotten her duties to you, forget not 
the high duties which you owe to the land of your birth. If she 
deny you her honors and rewards, there is left you the sweet 
consolation of having deserved them. It behooves not to say 
whether our rulers are wicked or unwise. If so, we but share 
in the common fate of nations, all of whom at some time or 
other have been unfortunate in these respects. An enemy's 
anchor now clings to our soil. Be firm, my friends — be mind- 
ful of the heroic fame of your fathers ; hug to your hearts your 
recent triumphs, and show to posterity and the world that, in 
the hour of danger, Americans will venerate their laws and give 
their lives to the liberties of their country. ♦ 



LAFAYETTE AT THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON. 591 



NOTE IV.-Page 67. 

LAFAYETTE AT THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON. 

The solemn and imposing scene of the visit of Lafayette to 
the tomb of Washington took place on Sunday, the 17th of Octo- 
ber, 1826. About one o'clock, the general left the steamboat 
Peter sburg^'^it'iinchor, off Mount Vernon, and was received into 
a barge manned and steered by captains of vessels from Alexan 
dria, who had handsomely volunteered their services for this in 
teresting occasion. He was accompanied in the barge by his 
family and suite, and Mr. Secretary John C. Calhoun. On 
reaching the shores, he was received by Mr. Lawrence Lewis, the 
nephew of Washington, and by the gentlemen of the family of 
Judge Bushrod Washington (the judge himself being absent on 
official duties), and conducted to the ancient mansion, where, forty 
years before, Lafayette took the last leave of his " hero, his 
friend, and our country's preserver." 

After remaining a few minutes in the house, the general pro- 
ceeded to the vault,* supported by Mr. Lewis and the gentlemen 
relatives of the judge, and accompanied by G. W. Lafayette and 
G. W. P. Custis, the children of Mount Vernon, both having 
shared the paternal care of the great chief. Mr. Custis wore the 
ringf suspended from a Cincinnati ribbon. Arrived at the sep- 
ulchre, after a pause, Mr. Custis addressed the general as fol- 
lows : — 

* The old vault, now in ruins. 

t See page 67. The following description of the ring is from the National Intel- 
ligencer, October 9, 1824: — 

" We have had an opportunity of inspecting the ring made by Mr. Greenbnry 
Gaither, enclosing a lock of the hair of General Washington, which Mr. Custis had 
prepared to be presented by him to General Lafayette. It will remain at Mr. 



592 APPENDIX. 

" Last of the generals of the army of independence ! at this 
awful and impressive moment, when, forgetting the splendor of 
a triumph greater than Roman consul ever had, you bend with 
reverence over the remains of Washington, the child of Mount 
Vernon presents you with this token, containing the hair of him 
whom, while living, you loved, and to whose honored grave you 
now pay the manly and affecting tribute of a patriot's and a 
soldier's tear. 

" The ring has ever been an emblem of the union of hearts from 
the earliest ages of the world, and this will unite the affections 
of all the Americans to the person and posterity of Lafayette 
now and hereafter ; and, when your descendants of a distant day 
shall behold this valued relic, it will remind them of the heroic 
virtues of their illustrious sire who received it, not in the pal- 
aces or amid the pomp and vanities of life, but the laurelled 
grave of Washington. Do you ask, Is this the Mausoleum be- 
fitting the ashes of Marcus Aurelius or the good Antonius ? I 
tell you that the Father of his Country lies buried in the hearts 
of his countrymen, and in those of the brave, the good, the free, 
of all ages and nations. Do you seek for the tablets which are 
to convey his fame to immortality ? They have long been writ- 
ten in the freedom and happiness of his country. These are 
the monumental trophies of Washington the Great, and will en- 
dure when the proudest works of art have ' dissolved and lett; 
not a wreck behind.' 

" Venerable man ! will you never tire in the cause of freedom 

Gaither's to-day, subject to public inspection. The ring is of solid gold, and per- 

fectly plain, but neat workmansiiip. On the inner surface of it is the following 

inscription beautifully engraved : 

' Lafayette. 

1777. 

Pro novi orbis liberate 

decerbatat Juvenis, 

stabilitam Senex 

Invenit. 

1824.' 

On the face of the ring, surrounding the hair, are the words ' Pater Patriae ;' and 
on another side the words ' Mount Vernon.' This is an appropriate, and must b* 
a highly acceptable gift." 



i 



LAFAIETTE AT THE TOMB OF WASHINGTON. 593 

and human happiness ? Is it not time that you should rest from 
your generous labors, and repose on the bosom of a country 
which delights to love and honor you, and will her children's 
children to bless your name and memory ? Sure where liberty 
dwells there must be the country of Lafayette ! 

" Our fathers witnessed the dawn of your glory, partook of its 
meridian splendor, and ! let their children enjoy the benign 
radiance of your setting sun, and, when it shall sink in the 
horizon of nature, here^ here, with pious duty, we will form your 
sepulchre, and, united in death as in life by the side of the great 
chief, you will rest in peace, till the last trump awakes the slum- 
bering world and calls your virtues to their great reward. 

" The joyous shouts of millions of freemen hailed your returned 
foot-prints on our sands ; the arms of millions are opened wide 
to hug you to their grateful hearts, and the prayers of millions 
ascend to the throne of Almighty power, and implore that the 
choicest blessings of Heaven will cheer the latter days of La- 
fayette !" 

The general, having received the ring, pressed it to his bosom 
and replied : — 

" The feelings which, at this awful moment, oppress my heart 
do not leave the power of utterance. I can only thank you, my 
dear Custis, for your precious gift, and pay a silent homage to 
the tomb of the greatest and best of men, my paternal friend !" 

The general affectionately embraced the donor and the other 
three gentlemen, and, gazing intently on the receptacle of de- 
parted greatness, fervently pressed his lips to the door of the 
vault, while tears filled the furrows of the veteran's cheeks. The 
key was now applied to the lock — the door flew open and dis- 
covered the coffins strewed with flowers and evergreens. The 
general descended the steps and kissed the leaden cells which 
contained the ashes of the great chief and his venerable consort, 
and then retired in an excess of feeling which language is too 
poor to describe. After partaking of refreshments at the house, 
and making a slight tour in the grounds, the general returned to 
to the shore. lu descending the hill to the river, the horses 

38 



594 APPENDIX. 

became restive. Some spirited young men rushed forward, re- 
moved the horses, and would have drawn the carriage them- 
selves ; but this the general would not permit, and, alighting, 
walked to the shore, a distance of nearly a quarter of a mile. 
Previous to re-embarkation, Mr. Custis presented the Cincinnati 
ribbon, which had borne the ring to the vault, to Major Ewell, a 
veteran of the Revolution, requesting him to take a part of it 
and divide the remainder among the young men present, which 
was done, and a general struggle ensued for the smallest portion 
of it. 

The same barge conveyed the general to the Petersburg, the ^ 
marine band playing, as before, a strain of solemn music. The 
vessel immediately proceeded on her voyage to Yorktown. 

Not a soul intruded upon the privacy of the visit to the tomb. 
Nothing occurred to disturb its reverential solemnity. The old 
oaks which grew around the sepulchre, touched with the mel- 
lowed lustre of autumn, appeared rich and ripe as the autumnal 
honors of Lafayette. Not a murmur was heard, save the strains 
of solemn music and the deep and measured sound of artillery, 
which awoke the echoes around the hallowed heights of Mount 
Yernon. 

'Tis done ! the greatest, the most affecting scene of the grand 
drama has closed, and the pilgrim who now repairs to the tomb 
of the Father of his Country will find its laurels moistened by 
the tears of Lafayette.* 

* This was communicated to the National Intelligencer immediately after the 
occurrence, and was published in that paper on the 26th of October, 1894 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 595 



NOTE V. 

AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS, BY WASHINGTON.* 

Having given very full and ample details of the intended 
crops, and my ideas of the modes of managing them at the sev- 
ral plantations, little, if these are observed, needs be added on 
this subject. But, as the profit of every farm is greater or less, 
in proportion to the quantity of manure which is made thereon, 
or can be obtained by keeping the fields in good condition, these 
two important requisites ought never to be lost sight of. 

To effect the former, besides the ordinary means of farm-yards, 
cow-pens, sheep-folds, stables, &c., it would be of essential use, 
if a certain proportion of the force of each plantation could be 
appropriated, in the summer or early part of autumn, to the pur- 
pose of getting up mud to be ameliorated by the frosts of winter 
for the spring-crops, which are to follow. And, to accomplish 
the latter, the gullies in these fields, previous to their being sown 
with grain and grass-seeds, ought invariably to be filled up. By 
so doing, and a small sprinkling of manure there, they will ac- 
quire a green sward and strength of soil sufficient to preserve 
them. These are the only means I know of by which exhausted 
lands can be recovered, and an estate rescued from destruction. 

Although a precise number of tobacco hills is, by my general 

* On several occasions, the author of the Recollections has referred to the extreme 
care and method which Washington always exercised in the management of his 
estate. The following " directions respecting the management of the plantations 
and other affairs at Mount Vernon," given to his nephew, George A. Washington, 
to whom he committed the superintendence of his private concerns when he assumed 
the office of President of the United States, will give the reader a fair specimen of 
that care and method. The paper is dated March 31, 1789, a little more than a 
fortnight before he left Mount Vernon for New York. 



596 APPENDIX. 

directions, allotted to each plantation, yet my real intention is, 
that no more ground shall be appropriated to this crop than what 
is either naturally very good (for which purpose small spots may 
be chosen), or what can be made strong by manure of some kind 
or other ; for my object is to labor for profit, and therefore to re- 
gard quality instead of quantity, there being, except in the article 
of manuring, no difference between attending a good plant and 
an indifferent one. But, in any event, let the precise number of 
hills be ascertained, that an estimate may be formed of their 
yield to the thousand. 

Being thoroughly convinced, from experience, that embezzle- 
ment and waste of crops (to say nothing of the various accidents 
to which they are liable by delays) are increased proportionably 
to the time they are suffered to remain on hand, my wish is, as 
soon as circumstances will permit after the grain is harvested, 
that it may be got out of the straw, especially at the plantations 
where there are no barns, and either disposed of in proper de- 
posites, or sold, if it is wheat, and the price is tolerable, after it 
has been converted into flour. When this work is set about as 
the sole or as a serious business, it will be executed properly ; 
but when a little is done now and a little then, there is more 
waste, even if there should be no embezzlement, than can well 
be conceived. 

One or two other matters I beg may be invariably attended to. 
The first is to begin harvest as soon as the grain can be cut with 
safety ; and the next, to get it in the ground in due season. 
Wheat should be sown by the last of August ; at any rate by the 
10th of September ; and other fall grain as soon after as possi- 
ble. Spring grain and grass-seeds should be sown as soon as. the 
ground can possibly, with propriety, be prepared for their recep- 
tion. 

For such essential purposes as may absolutely require the aid 
of the ditchers, they may be taken from that work. At all other 
times they must proceed in the manner which has been directed 
formerly, and in making the new roads from the ferry to the 
mill, and from the tumbling dam across the neck, till it communi- 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASIimGTON. 597 

cates with the Alexandria road, as has been pointed out on the 
spot. The ditch from the ferry to the mill along this road may 
be a common four-feet one ; but from the mill to the tumbling 
dam, and thence across to the head of the old field by Muddy- 
Hole fence, it must be five feet wide at the top, but no deeper 
than the four-feet one, and the same width at bottom as the 
latter. 

After the carpenters have given security to the old barn in the 
neck, they must proceed to the completion of the new one at the 
ferry, according to the plan and the explanations which have 
been given. Gunner and Davis should get bricks made for this 
purpose ; and, if John Knowles could be spared (his work, not 
only with respect to time, but quantity and quality, to be amply 
returned) to examine the bilged walls, and the security of them, 
and to level and lay the foundations of the other work when the 
bricks are ready, it would be rendering me an essential service ; 
and, as the work might be returned in proper season, would be 
no detriment to your building. 

When the brick work is executed at the ferry barn. Gunner 
and Davis must repair to Dogue Run, and make bricks there, at 
the place and in the manner which have been directed, that I 
may have no salmon bricks in that building. 

Oyster-shells should be bought whenever they are offered for 
sale, if good and on reasonable terms. 

Such moneys as you may receive for flour, barley, fish, as also 
for other things, which can be spared and sold ; and for rents, 
the use of the jacks, &c. ; and for book debts, which may be 
tried, though little is expected from the justice of those who 
have been long indulged ; may be applied to the payment 
of workmen's wages as they arise, Fairfax, and the taxes, and 
likewise to the payment of any just debts which I may be owing 
in small sums, and have not been able to discharge previous to 
my leaving the state. The residue may await further orders. 

As I shall want shingles, plank, nails, rum for harvest, scant- 
ling, and such like things, which would cost me money at an- 
other time, fish may be bartered for them. The scantling, if any 



598 APPENDIX. 

is taken, must be such as will suit for the barn now about to be 
built, or that at Dogue Run, without waste and of good quality. 

I find it is indispensably necessary, for two reasons, to save 
my own clover and timothy-seed ; first, because it is the only 
certain means of having it good and in due season ; and, sec- 
ondly, because I find it is a lieavy article to purchase. 

Save all the honey-locusts you can of those which belong to 
me ; if more could be obtained, the better ; and, in the fall, 
plant them on the ditches where they are to remain about six 
inches apart, one seed from another. 

The seeds, which are on the case in my study, ought, without 
loss of time, to be sown and planted in my botanical garden, 
and proper memoranda kept of the times and places. 

You will use your best endeavors to obtain the means for sup- 
port of G. and L. Washington, who, I expect, will board, till 
something further can be decided on, with Dr. Craik, who must 
be requested to see that they are decently and properly provided 
with clothes from Mr. Porter's store. He will give them a credit 
on my becoming answerable to him for the payment ; and, as I 
know of no resource that H. has for supplies but from me, Fanny 
will, from time to time, as occasion may require, have such things 
got for her, on my account, as she shall judge necessary. Mrs. 
Washington will, I expect, leave her tolerably well provided with 
common articles for the present. 

My memorandum books, which will be left in my study, will 
inform you of the times and places, when, and where, different 
kinds of wheat, grass-seeds, &c., were sown. Let particular 
attention be paid to the quality and quantity of each sort that a 
proper judgment of them may be formed. To do this, great care 
must be taken to prevent mixture of the several sorts, as they 
are so contiguous to each other. 

The general superintendence of my affairs is all I require of 
you ; for it is neither my desire nor wish that you should become 
a drudge to it, or that you should ^refrain from any amusements 
or visitings which may be agreeable either to Fanny or yourself 
to make or receive. If Fairfax, the farmer, and Thomas Greeu, 



\ 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 599 

on each of whom I have endeavored to impress a proper sense 
of their duty, will act their part with propriety and fidelity, 
nothing more will be necessary for you to do than would com- 
port with amusement and that exercise which is conducive to 
health. Nor is it my wish that you should live in too parsimo- 
nious a manner. Frugality and economy are undoubtedly com- 
mendable, and all that is required. Happily for this country, 
these virtues prevail more and more every day among all classes 
of citizens. I have heard of, and I have seen with pleasure, a 
remarkable change in the mode of living from what it was a 
year or two ago ; and nothing but the event, which I dreaded 
would take place soon, has prevented my following the example. 
Indeed, necessity, if this had not happened, would have forced 
me into the measure, as my means are not adequate to the ex- 
pense at which I have lived since my retirement to what is called 
private life. Sincerely wishing you health and happiness, I am 
ever your warm friend and affectionate uncle. 



A VIEW OF THE WORK AT THE SEVERAL PLANTATIONS AT MOUNT VERNON, 
IN THE TEAR 1T89, AND GENERAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE EXECUTION OF IT. 

From the plans of the plantations, from the courses of the 
crops, which are annexed to these plans, and from the mode of 
managing them as there prescribed, may be derived a full and 
comprehensive view of my designs, after the rotation is once 
perfectly established in the succession that is proposed. But, as 
this cannot, at all the plantations, be adopted this year, every- 
thing in the meantime must be made to tend to it, against the 
next, as far as circumstances will admit. 

MUDDY-HOLE FARM. 

The ploughs belonging to this plantation, together with those 
from Dogue Run, are to continue without interruption or delay, 
when not prevented by frost or rain, to break up field No. 5 for 
Indian corn. And, when this is accomplished, next to break up 
No 4 for buckwheat, which is to be sewed in April, and ploughed 



600 ^ APPENDK. 

in before harvest, as a manure for the crop of wheat, which is 
to be sown therein in the month of August next, after these 
ploughings are performed. 

Then, as there is no field at this plantation which can with 
convenience be appropriated for spring grain, or for the crop of 
sundries this year, and as the ploughs at Dogue Run, especially 
if the winter should prove hard and unfavorable, will not be able, 
of themselves, to break up fields No. 4 and No. 6 at their own 
plantation, and at the same time prepare those of No. 3 for bar- 
ley and oats, and No. 7 for Indian corn, in due season, the whole 
may go to Dogue Run, till the corn at Muddy-Hole shall want 
them, and work in No. 6, if the condition of it is such as to ad- 
mit thereof — or in No. 4 at the same place, if it is not — for the 
respective crops which are designed for them. 

The fence on the ferry road, from the division between the 
fields No. 4 and No. 5 to the lane on the mill road, must be re- 
paired with new rails ; but from thence to the gate leading to 
the barn from the overseer's house it should be made tolerably 
secure with rails, which may be taken from the opposite side. 

As the days are short, walking bad, and the difi"erent kinds of 
stock will require careful attendance, it may, perhaps, be best to 
relinquish the idea of the people of this place having anything 
further to do with the new ground at the Mansion House ; and 
when not employed, in open weather, with their fencing, to be 
threshing out grain. But there is a work of great importance, 
if the weather and other circumstances would concur for the ex- 
ecution of it in season. I mean that of getting up rich mud from 
the most convenient part of the creek, and laying it in small 
heaps, for amelioration, to be carried over the poor parts of 
No. 5, which will be in corn. If this last-mentioned work can 
be accomplished (and it must be done soon, if any effect is ex- 
pected from it this year, in order that the frost may have time 
to operate), the cart may be employed in hauling it to the 
ground. 

Another piece of work to be done here (as I propose to make 
a small quantity of tobacco at this as well as my other planta- 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 601 

tions), is to hill the ground that is marked off for it in time. 
But, previous to hilling, it must be laid off with the plough into 
three-feet squares, that the hills may be made directly on the 
cross ; so that, in the early stages of the growth of the tobacco, 
it may be tended with a plough each way. 

If these several kinds of work should not afford sufficient em- 
ployment for the hoe people, with the cultivation of the ground, 
which will be marked out for potatoes and carrots, and which 
ought to be ploughed up immediately, they may be preparing 
field No. 6, on the creek, for corn in 1790. In the execution of 
this work, the cedar-trees are not to be cut down, but trimmed 
only, and other trees left here and there for shades. The brush 
and rubbish, of all sorts, are to be be thrown into the gullies 
and covered over, so as to admit the ploughs to pass. 

Both parts of field No. 1 should from this time be withheld 
from stock of all kinds, that there may be, in the spring, early 
food for the ewes, lambs, and calves. Field No. 3, now in wheat 
and rye, must be sown with clover and timothy on the first snow 
that falls, six pints of the first and two of the latter per acre. 

DOGUE-RUN FARM. 

The ploughs belonging to this plantation, when they have pei 
formed what has already been directed for them at Muddy Hole, 
together with those of the latter, are to begin, if the ground 
will admit of it, to break up No. 6 for buckwheat, to be sown in 
April. But if this, on account of the levelness of the field and 
the water which may stand on it, can not be done, then plough 
No. 4 for the crop of sundries. But, as it is of essential import- 
ance that the oats and barley should be sown early, and the 
working of the fields for Indian corn not so much delayed as to 
endanger the prospect for that crop, the ploughings of both No. 6 
and No. 4 must be delayed, at least, till the oats and barley are 
in, if they can not be broken up in season for the above purposes. 
The oats ought to be sown in February, next the post-and-rail 
fence ; and the barley as soon after as possible on the other side 



G02 APPENDIX. 

adjoining the corn. "With both, clover and timothy, in the pro- 
portions already mentioned, are to be sown. 

After the above work is accomplished, it will be time to cross- 
plough and sow such parts of No. 4 as are intended for carrots, 
and this is to be done in drills four feet asunder ; and, if the 
ground is dry enough, in the month of March, and for flax, which 
should be sown in April. 

By the time these are done, possibly before it, the fields for 
corn will want listing. This corn, in the south part of the field, 
next to the woods, may be planted at five feet each way, with 
two stalks in a hill, and in the north part, next to Colonel Ma- 
son's, at four feet each way, with one stalk in a hill. The 
ploughings and harrowings necessary for which, without going 
into detail with respect to the manner and times, must be given 
when wanted. 

The sowing of buckwheat in April for manure seems to be the 
next thing which calls for the ploughs, because it ought to be 
in the ground as soon as all danger of frost is over, that it may 
be in the proper state (full bloom) for ploughing in before harvest. 

After buckwheat, pease will come next, and the ground for 
these, as for the tobacco, must be laid off in squares for hilling, 
that they may, before they begin to run and spread, be ploughed 
each way. They ought to be planted in May. 

Pumpkins, potatoes, turnips, and buckwheat for a crop, in the 
order they are mentioned, will next claim the assistance of the 
ploughs. The first should be planted in May, in hills eight feet 
apart and well manured ; the second in June, in drills four feet 
apart and a foot asunder in the rows, with a large handful of 
manure on each potato, which should be uncut and of the largest 
sort ; the third — that is, turnips — to be sown partly in June and 
partly in July ; and the fourth, buckwheat, as near as may be to 
the 10th of July. 

This field of sundries may be thus apportioned : Carrots, five 
acres ; potatoes, five ; pumpkins, one ; turnips, one ; pease, fif- 
teen ; flax, three ; tobacco, five ; buckwheat, thirty-five ; being 
seventy acres in all. 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 603 

That it may be ascertained, by repeated experiments, whetlior 
carrots or potatoes are the most productive and valuable root, I 
would have the ten acres allotted for them in one square, and 
the rows for each alternate through the whole square, and each 
to have the same quantity of manure allowed to it. 

The work which has been mentioned for the ploughs, together 
with the ploughing in of the buckwheat before harvest, the wheat 
after harvest, with the workings of the several species of crops 
during their growth, is all the employment that can be recol- 
lected at present for this part of the force of the plantation, until 
the autumn j^loughing for the next year's crop commences. But 
as these — till the system is brought more into practice, and the 
preceding crop is a better preparation of the ground for the suc- 
ceeding one than is the case at present — will require much exer- 
tion and an addition of ploughs, one may be added to the num- 
ber at Dogue Run, which will make five there ; and another at 
Muddy Hole, which will make four there. 

Much fencing is necessary at this plantation before it can be 
said to be advantageously laid off, and in good order. That 
which requires to be first done, is the one which divides field 
No. 4 from the meadow ; but, as the rails which are about the 
stacks will be most convenient for this work, it may be delayed 
until they can be spared. In the meantime, no heavy stock must 
run in that field to trample and poach the meadow. 

The next that requires doing, is the line from the head of the 
meadow to the new road, which is to be laid off thence with the 
road to the tumbling dam, and thence round field No. 7, agree- 
ably to the ploughing, and the rails which have been laid there. 

Next after these, the cross-fence between field No. 5 and the 
wood should be done ; and then the fence, which was begun last 
year, but not finished, between fields No. 2 and No. 3. The 
fence which divides the first of these — that is. No. 2 — from the 
great meadow, requires doing also. All these are essential ; as 
it also is to strengthen the post-and-rail fence which divides 
No. 1 from No. 2 and No. 3 ; but, as this never can be made a 
good one until the whole is taken down and both posts and rails 



604 APPENDIX. 

shortened, it must be postponed till there is time to do this — 
righting up in such a manner as to make it answer for the pres- 
ent, being all that can be attempted this year. 

Lastly, when time will admit, after the posting and railing 
from the tumbling dam to the mill is completed, the rails, which 
at present run upon that line, may serve to separate the great 
meadow into three divisions, as 'vvill be marked out. 

Evei-ything that the hoe people can do in the course of the 
winter toward getting the old crop oif hand, and preparing for 
the new one, ought to be the first object of consideration, and 
must be closely attended to. Carrying out manure, when the ♦ 
cart can be spared and the ground is in order for its reception, 
either for carrots, potatoes, tobacco, or other things, is not to be 
neglected. Grubbing and filling up gullies, in the fields which 
are to receive crops this year, is also essential ; and, if these 
should not afford sufficient employment, the overplus time may 
be spent in clearing swamps, or the sides of them, s6 that they 
may hereafter, when drained effectually, be tended in tobacco 
previous to their being laid down in grass. 

At this place I propose to plant about thirty thousand tobacco- 
plants, in field No. 4, round the houses and stacks, where they - 
will be most convenient to the manure ; and, where the ground ' 
is not very rich, I would join a gallon or a large double handful 
of manure to each hill. The ground for the crop ought to be 
broken up early, either with the ploughs or hoes, that the green 
sward may have time to rot. If thirty thousand hills can not be 
got here, the deficiency may be made up by the gate that goes 
into field No. 5. 

RIVER FARM. 

Early and good ploughing at this place is indispensably neces- 
sary. The field No. 7, intended for spring grain — that is, bai^ 
ley and oats — would, if justice were done to it, call for a second 
or cross ploughing by the time the ploughs will begin to break it 
up.- Consequently, field No. 1, designed for corn, will hardly 
get more than a listing ; and the field No. 4 which ouglit to have 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHES^GTON. 605 

received a crop of sundries, must go altogether uncultivated this 
year. 

After field No. 7 is sown with barley, oats, and grass-seed — 
the latter in the proportion mentioned in the other places, if the 
preparation of No. 1 for corn can not be postponed, without in- 
volving injurious consequences to that crop — the ploughs must 
go there next, and do all that is necessary for getting it planted 
in time, and in good order. 

But, as I do not mean to plant potatoes or carrots among corn 
this year, as was the case last year, inclining to allot separate 
spots for this purpose, these spots, and that which is intended 
for tobacco, ought to be immediately ploughed ; that the weeds 
and grass, where there are any, may have time to rot, and the 
ground be in order to receive manure. The spot which I would 
principally appropriate for carrots and potatoes, is that whereon 
the flax grew last year ; but if more can be conveniently obtained 
elsewhere, it ought to be had, as that spot is insufficient. The 
ground for tobacco (forty thousand plants) I mean to lay off in 
a long square, from the farm-pen up to field No. 2, which, when 
ploughed and checkered, will be ready to receive manure at times 
when the carts can with convenience carry it out. 

All the ploughings, which are here enumerated, being accom 
plished, the season probably will have arrived when No. 8 will 
require to be cross-ploughed^ and sowed with buckwheat for 
manure in April. This is, in all respects, to be managed as has 
been directed for Dogue Run, and after harvest is to receive 
wheat, in August, as there mentioned. 

These, with the necessary workings of the several species of 
crops, which must not be neglected, will, it is presumed, give 
sufl&cient employment for the ploughs. If not, there can be no 
difficulty in finding work for them. 

Much fencing is wanting on this plantation before it can be m 
the order I wish to see it ; but, among the most essential of these, 
is the fence which is to enclose field No. 1 for corn ; that which 
runs from the second gate, going into the plantation, to the 
creek, dividing my land from Colonel Mason's ; and that which 



606 APPENDIX. 

is to form the lane, which is to lead from the barn into the lane 
which now goes to Johnson's, and which must continue the other 
way, so as to open a communication with the fields No 1, No. 2, 
No. 3, and No. 4. As timber is very scarce on this tract, it 
must, in fencing as well as in other things, be made to go as far 
as possible ; consequently, posts and rails, of a good and sub- 
stantial kind, must be substituted instead of the usual kind of 
worm-fences. 

To point out all the work for the hoe people of this plantation, 
is unnecessary. To finish the old, and to prepare for the new 
crop ; to put up fences ; to heap up manure early, that it may 
get well and soon rotted ; to carry it out, and to lay it in the 
furrows intended for carrots and potatoes, and on the ground 
intended for tobacco ; making hills for the tobacco ; grubbing 
and filling gullies in the fields, which are to receive crops this 
year, with old rails, old stumps, old trees, and such other rubbish 
as can be had conveniently ; levelling the bank on which a fence 
formerly ran through field No. 8 — will, with the cultivation of 
the crops that will be planted and sown, and gathering them in, 
compose the greater part, if not all, of their labor. But, if 
there should, notwithstanding, be time for other things, I know 
of nothing in which they could be more advantageously em- 
ployed than in getting up rich mud from the branches in field 
No. 8, to spread over the poor and washed parts of that field, 
before it is sown in wheat next August. 

MANSION-HOUSE FARM. 

The ditchers, after the post-and-rail fence, which they are now 
about, to the tumbling dam is completed, and a strong one put 
up across the mill run, as will be marked off, may continue on 
to the mill by the line of stakes which will be set up ; but they 
are not to use for this purpose those posts which were got by 
Marley's house, as they will be more convenient for the lane 
which is to form the new road from the ferry by the mill, as 
authorized by the court. After this work is performed, it will 
be time enough to point out more. 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 607 

To say wliat the other part of the force at this place shall be 
employed about, is next to impossible, since there is such a va- 
riety of jobs for them to attend to, besides fishing, hay-making, 
and the grain-harvest in their respective seasons, which must 
iinavoidal)ly employ them while they last. 

But, as it is designed to raise tobacco, and to tend in corn 
that part, at least, of tlie new ground in front of the house, 
which was cleared last year, in order that it may be laid dowii in 
the fall in wheat and orchard grass, they must prepare for them 
accordingly, and, under the circumstances above-mentioned, 
attempt as much of the first — that is, tobacco — as there is a 
moral certainty of their tending well. The men may be em- 
ployed in getting posts and rails of a good kind for the purpose 
of enclosing this tobacco. But it is essential, if any labor is 
expected from the girls and boys who are about this house, to 
keep some person with them, who will not only make them work, 
but who will see that the work is well executed, and that the 
idleness which they appear every day in the practice of may be 
avoided. 



608 



APPENDED. 



FIRST STATEMENT OF THE CEOPS IN 17S9. 



Acrei. Acres 



Corn ; 375 acres. 1 ploughinjr in the fall of 1788 . 

Listing the field in March, about f of the above work . 
Opening the furrows in April, § of the last work 
Breaking up the balks in May, | of the whole 
Ploughing do. in June, do. do. 
Do. do. in July, do. do. 

Three times harrowed do. do. each 281 

Rye ; 375 acres. Once ploughed for seeding in September 

Once harrowed do. 

Buckwheat ; 375 acres. One ploughing after Rye comes oflF 
One do. in April , 

Three harrowings, 1 before, and 2 after sowing 
Wheat; 375 acres. Ploughing in Buckwheat in June 

Do. seeding ground with Wheat in August 



One harrowing after sowing . 
Sundries; 375 acres. One ploughing in the fall of 1788 . 

in Pease ploughed into three-feet ridges in April 
Checkered, about ^ of above work in April 
in Buckwheat for a crop, ploughed in April 
Do. 1st July 
Three times harrowed 1st of July 
8 do. Scarcity ploughed in March 
do. May 

do. July . . 

Pumpkins, ploughed in March 
do. May . 

do. July 

Flax, ploughed in March . 
do. April 



375 acres. 
75 do. 

234 do. 



8 do. 



20 do. 



Barley ; 375 acres. 



Three times harrowed 
First ploughing January or February 
Second do. February or March 
Three times harrowed 



375 
94 
31 
281 
281 
281 



375 
375 



375 
375 



375 

75 

19 

234 

234 



375 
375 



1343 



281 



750 



750 



1025 



750 



843 

281 



1125 



375 



'02 



60 



1125 



4899,4511 



Of the ahove Work, 



Between the 1st of October and Christmas, Corn amounts to 

Buikwheat " " 
Sundries " " 

In January and February, Barley, f -3t ploughing 

February and May do. second " . , , 

March, listing for Corn as above ... 
Ploughing first time for Root of Scarcity 

Do. do. Flax .... 

Do.. do. Pumpkins 



375 
375 
375 



94 



Carried over, 2005 1125 



1125 
375 
375 



130 



1125 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 



609 



April, second ploughing for Flax 



Brought over, 



Do. 



May, 



Pease, in three-feet ridges 
Do. checkered , 
Opening Corn lists for planting 
Buckwheat for manure 
Do. for seed 
Pumpkins, second ploughing, 8; Root of Scarcity, 8 
Breaking balks between Corn ..... 

June, ploughing Corn second time 

Do. Buckwheat for manure .... 
July, Buckwheat for seed ...... 

Third ploughing of Corn 

Third do. Boot of Scarcity, 8 ; Pumpkins, 8 

August, Wheat 

September, Rye 



20 

75 

19 

31 

37.5 

234 

16 

281 

281 

375 

234 

281 

16 



2005 



520 



1125 
60 



1125 



531 


281 




281 


656 






702 




281 


531 




375 


375 


281 


281 


4899 


4511 



Results of the First Statement. 



Dr. 



For 375 bushels Rye for seed, 
at 3s. . 
375 bushels Buckwheat for 

seed, at 2s. . 
375 do. Wheat, do. 5s. . 
750 do. Barley, do. 3s. &d. 
Sundries, viz. : 
75 bush. Pease for seed, 
at 4s. . 
234 do. Buckwheat, 2s. . 
30 do. Flux, 3s. 6c?. 
3750 lbs. Clover-seed, 8c?. . 
3120 bushels of Corn for 

negroes, at 3s. 
2750 bushels of Rye for 
horses, 3s. . 
100 do. Salt, 2s. 6c?. 
330 gallons Rum, 2s. 
750 bushels of potatoes, 
for seed, Is. 



£ s. d. 

56 5 

37 10 

93 15 

131 5 



15 

23 8 

5 5 

125 

468 

412 10 
12 10 
33 00 

37 10 



jei450 18 



£ 

By 5625 bushels Corn, at 3s. . 843 

5625 do. Rye, 3s. . 843 

5625 do. Potatoes, is. . 281 

4500 do. Barlev, 3s. 6c?. 787 



3750 do. Wheat, 5s. 

Sundries, viz. : 
1404 bushels Buckwheat, 

at 2s 

375 do. Pease, 4s. . 
100 do. Flax-seed, 3s. 6rf. 
Dressed Flax. 
Buckwheat, 375 acr^s 
for manure 



937 



140 
75 
17 



Cr. 

s. d. 


5 


10 



8 



10 



375 acres Clover 20*. 



3924 
, 375 



13 



4299 
100 thousand Tobacco 
hills, 20 hhds. £7 10s. 150 



13 



£4449 13 



SECOND STATEMENT OF CROPS IN 1789. 



Corn ; 375 acres. Same in all respects as No. 1 . . . 
Buckwheat; 375 acres. First ploughing in April . 

Second do. last of June 

Three harrowings 

Wheat; 375 acres. One ploughing after the Buckwheat is cut 

Two harrowings 

Sundries ; 375 acres. The same as 'No. 1 . . ». . 

Barley ; 375 acres. The same as No. 1 . . . . 



375 
375 



39 



1343 

750 

375 

1025 
750 



843 



1125 

750 

762 
1125 



4243 4605 



610 



APPENDIX. 



Of the above Work, 



One ploughins for Corn, 1788 
Fall, one plou<^hing for Sundries, do. . 
January and February, first ploufihing for Barley 
February and March, second do. do. . 



March, listing for Corn 

ploughing first time for Root of Scarcity 
Do. do. Flax ... 

Do. do- Pumpkins . 

April, second ploughing for Flax . . . . , 
Do. Pease, in three-feet ridges 

Do. clieckered 

Opening Corn lists .... 

First ploughing for Buckwheat for a crop 

May, first ploughing of Buckwheat among the sundries 

Pumpkins, second ploughing, 8 acres ; Scarcity, 8 do 
ploughing balks between Corn, first time . 

June, ploughing Corn second time 

second do. of Buckwheat .... 



July, the same 

Corn third time 

third ploughing for Scarcity, 8 ; for Pumpkins, 8 

August, ploughing for Wheat 







Ha^ 


Acres. 


AcrM 

375 


ro«« 








375 




375 






375 








750 


112! 


94 






8 






20 






8 


130 




20 




d 


75 




1 


19 




{ 


31 




1 


375 


520 


I 


234 






16 






281 








531 


281 


281 




281 


375 








656 


1125 


234 




702 


281 




281 


16 


531 






375 


750 




4243 


4605 



Results of the Second Stcdement. 



Dr. 



Cr. 





£ 


s. 


d. 


£ 


s.d. 


r 375 bushels of Buckwheat 








By 5625 bushels of Com, 3s. 843 





for seed, 2s. . 


37 


10 





5625 do. Potatoes, Is. 281 


5 


375 do. seed Wheat, 5s. . 


93 


15 





Buckwheat ploughed in for 




Sundries, viz. : 








manure. 




75 bushels Pease, 4s. 


15 








3750 bushels Wheat, 5s. . 937 


10 


234 do. Buckwheat, 2s. 


23 


8 





Sundries, viz. : 




30 do. Flax-seed, 3s. 6c?. . 


5 


5 





375 bushels of Pease, 4s. 75 





750 do. Barley, 3s. 6c/. 


131 


5 





1404 do. Buckwheat, 2s. 140 


8 


37.50 lbs. Clover-seed, Sd. . 


125 








4500 do. Barley, 3s. 6c/. 787 





3120 bushels of Corn, 3s. . 


468 








100 do. Flax-seed, 3s. 6c?. 17 


10 


2750 do. Rve, 3s. . 


412 


10 









100 do. Salt,2s.6<f. 


12 


10 





£3081 


13 


330 gallons Rum, 2s. 


33 








Dressed Flax. 




750 bushels Potatoes for 








375 acres Clover, 20s. . 375 





seed. Is. . . . 


37 


10 





_ 375 do. do. do. . 375 





£1394 


13 





£3831 


13 



AGRICtJLTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 



611 



THIRD STATEMENT OF CROPS IN 17S9. 



Corn ; 375 acres. The same as No. 1 and No. 2 . . . 

Barley ; 375 acres. do. do. do 

Buckwheat ; 375 acres. Ploughed in fall, in March and April, 
Wheat; 375 acres. Ploughed in June, to cover Buckwheat and 
in August .......... 

Flax ; 20 acres. Ploughed twice — harrowed three times . 



Corn 



Acres. 

1343 

750 

1125 

750 
40 

4008 



843 
1125 
1125 

375 

60 

3528 



Of the above Work, 



Fall, one ploughing for Corn, 1788 

Do. Buckwheat, do. 



January and February, first ploughing for 
February and March, second do. 

March, listing for Corn . 

Second ploughing for Buckwheat 
First do. Flax 



April, second do. do. . 

Third do. Buckwheat 

Opening Corn lists . 



Barley 
do. . 



May, breaking up the balks between Cora 
June, second ploughing of Corn . 
Ploughing in Buckwheat 

July, ploughing Corn the third time 
Ploughing for Wheat or Buckwheat 



Acres. 

375 
375 

375 
375 

94 

375 

20 

20 

375 

31 



281 
375 



281 
375 



750 
750 

489 



426 
281 



656 



656 



4008 



1125 



60 
750 



281 
281 



Results of Third Stcdement 



Dr. 



For 750 bushels of Barley for 
seed, at 3s. 6d. 
375 do. Buckwheat, 2s. 
375 do. Wheat, 5s. . 
3750 lbs. Clover-seed, 8rf, 
30 bushels of Flax-seed 
3120 do. Corn, 3s 

2750 do. Rye for horses 
100 do. Salt, 2s. 6c?. 
330 gallons of Rum, 2s 
750 bushels Potatoes for 
seed, Is. 



Cr. 



£ 


s.d. 


. 131 


15 


. 37 


10 


. 93 


15 


. 125 





. 5 


5 


. 468 





3 . 412 


10 


. 12 


10 


. 33 


10 


. 37 


10 


£1357 


5 



By 5625 bushels of Corn, 3s. 
5625 do. Potatoes, Is. 
4500 do. Barley, 3s. 6c?. 
3750 do. Wheat, 5s. . 
Buckwheat for manure. 
100 bush. Flax-seed, 3s. 6tf. 17 10 



£ s. d. 
843 
281 5 
787 
937 10 



375 acres Clover, 20s. 
375 do. do. do. 
375 do, do. do. 



£2866 5 

. 375 
. 375 
. 375 

£3091 5 



612 



APPENDIX. 



MANAGER'S WEEKLY REPORT.* 
April 14, 1792. 

Meteorological Table. 



April 8tk 
" 9th 
" \Oth 

" nth 

" \'2th 
" I3lh 
" Uth 

Dr. 



Morning. 


Noon. 


E. Clear. 


S. E. Cloudv. 


S. E. Rain. 


S. E. Cloudy. 


S. W. Cloudy. 


S. W. Rain. 


58 E. Rain. 


S. E. Rain. 


57 N. E. Rain. 


56 N. E. Hard Rain. 


52 N. E.'Cloudy. 


56N. E.Rain. 


54 N.W. Cloud>. 


58 N. W. Cloudy. | 



Night. 





S. E. 




S. E. 


60 


S. E. 


58 


S. E. 


54 


N. E. 


58 


N. E. 


52 


N.W. 



Mansion-House Farm for the work of 12 men, 6 boys, and 4 girls, 
amounting per week to ..... . 

Cr. 

By a wagon hauling posts and rails to Ferrj'-Bam lane . . • 

By do. hauling hay 1, stocks 1, timber for shafts for carts and moving park 

rails 1 . 
By hauling 6 barrels salt to Major Washington's landing, and bringing 

home straw ........ 

By carts hauling manure from Ferry Barn to No. 2 French's 

Bv cleaning loose manure about stables, and hauling it to lot intended for 

lucerne ........ 

Bv hauling corn from Ferry, and bran and meal from Mill wood to Mansion . 
By hauling stones to repair the crussing-place of Muddy-Hole Swamp, at 

the head of French's meadow ..... 

By Old Jack in care of granary 6, Old Frank in care of stock 6 

By Peter, in care of mares, mules, and jacks .... 

By Gunner digging brick-earth 3, cutting poles to build a brick house 2 . 

By putting up post-and-rail fence leading to Ferry Barn 

By hauling seine, cleaning, striking, and packing fish 

By Easter Monday ....... 

By sickness Boatswain 6, Mima 3, Richmond 3, Postilion Joe 3, Lvnna 3, 

Sam 3 . . . . . . . . ' . 

Total 



Rain. 

Cloudy. 

Rain. 

Rain. 

Cloudy, 

Rain. 

Clear. 

Days. 



132 

1 

3 

1 
6 

5 

2 

2 

12 

6 

5 

5 

41 

22 

21 

132 



* While Washington was absent from home, in discharging the duties of Pres- 
ident of the United States, it was his custom to exact from the manager at Mount 
Vernon, once in each week, a full report of the proceedings on all the farms. This 
paper is a sample of those reports. In the meteorological table, the figures denote 
the state of the thermometer, and the initial letters the direction of the wind. The 
design of this table was to communicate a knowledge of the weather, by which a more 
correct judgment could be formed of the amount of time that the laborers could prop- 
erly be employed at their work. Each report was accompanied with an explanjv- 
tory letter from the manager, containing other particulars. These were regularly 
answered once a week by the President, and sometimes oftener. His letters fre- 
quently filled two or three sheets, closely written. The importance he attached to 
these letters, and his diligence in preparing them, may be understood from the fact 
that he first made rough drafts, which were copied out by himself in a fair hand be- 
fore they were sent off. Press-coi)ies were then taken, which he preserved. This 
habit was pursued, without intermission, from the beginning to the end of the presi- 
dency. — Sfjar-hs. 



AGRICULTURAL DIRECTIONS BY WASHINGTON. 613 

Increase 2 Calves and 2 mules. Received from Mill, 22 bushels of M'.ial, and 
29 bushels of Bran; from Ferry, 3 barrels of Corn. Stock, 11 head of Cattle, 
4 Calves, 60 Sheep, 28 Lambs, 4 working Mares, 4 do. Horses, 5 Colts, 4 spring 
do., 2 Jacks, 2 old Jennies, 1 do. three years old, 1 do. two years old. 1 do. one 
year old, 15 Mules, 10 one year old, 2 spring do.; and 11 Mares. 

Dr. Days 

Ditchers, for the work of 6 men, amounting per week to . . .36 

Cr. — 

By Baths and Paschal mortising posts 1, fencing Ferry-Barn new lane 4 . 10 

By Boatswain and Robin mauling rails 1, and fencing as above 4 . . 10 

By Charles hauling seine . . . . . . . . 5 

By Dundee sawing trunnels with Dogue-Run hands ... 5 

By Easter Monday ........ 6 

Total ... 36 

N. B. There has been almost one day and part of another lost by rain this week. 



Dr. 



Days. 



MuDDV'-HoLE Farm for the work of 3 men and 9 women, amounting per 

week to ......... 72 

Cr. — 

By listing in No. 2 ....... . 4 

By a cart hauling stakes and trunnels to the fence between Nos. 1 and 7 3 

By hauling rails to No. 1 Lane fence ...... 1 

By raising the bunk with a plough and hoes between No. 1 and No. 7 11 

By putting up fences on said bank 19, cutting stakes and trunnels for do. 7 . 26 

By taking down and new setting the Lane fence of No. 1 . . . 7 
By Easter Monday . . . . . . . .12 

By sickness, Kate 3, Amy 2, Molly 3 .... . 8 

Total ... 72 

Received from Mill 6 bushels of Meal, and 6 bushels of Rye Meal. — Stock, 37 
head of cattle, 5 Calves, 30 Sheep, 8 working Horses, and 1 Mule. 

Dr. Days. 

Ferry and French's Farms for the work of 7 men, 16 women, and 4 boys, 

amounting per week to . . . . . . .162 

Cr. — 

By listing new ground in French's meadow , . . . .16 

By carts hauling stakes, rails, and trunnels to different fences . . 6 

By hauling manure to No. 2 French's 3 ; hauling corn to Mill 1 . .4 

By repairing fences, 34 ; burning logs and brush in the swamp 30 . 64 

By heaping manure 4, beating out corn 4, cutting and mauling stakes and 

trunnels 4 . . . . . . . . .12 

By spinning 3, hauling seine 5, French's Tom at Mansion-House 5 . 13 

By Easter Monday ........ 27 

By sickness, Doll 6, Old Daph 5, Betty 4, Rose 3, Delia 2 . . 20 

Total . . .162 

Increase, 2 Calves and 5 Lambs. Received from Mill, 12f bushels of Meal, sent 
do. f)3 bushels of Corn. To Mansion-House 3 barrels of do., feed to Horses 1 bar- 
rel of do. — Stock, 83 head of Cattle, 5 Calves, 136 Sheep, 60 Lambs, 16 working 
Horses, and 2 Mules. 

Dr. Days. 

River Farm for the work of 9 men, 18 women, and 1 girl, amounting per 

week to ........ . 168 

Cr. — 

By listing in No. 6 ....... • 10 

By carts hauling manure on do. >••••• ^ 



614 



APPENDIX. 



By hauling rails 2, going to Mill I . . . . . .3 

By loading carts with manure 6, cutting straw 3 . . . , 9 

By plasluiig thorn-hedge 4, repairing tlie bank of Lane fence No. 6, 2 . 6 

By stopping hog-liole in do. 6, putting up new fence next to the woods of do. 18 24 

By cutting corn-stalks, and getting them oft' ... . 56 

Lost by rain, or very little done ...... 20 

By Easter Monday ........ 28 

By Cornelia in childbed ..... . 6 

Total . . .168 

Increase, 2 Calves. Received from Mill, 9| bushels of Meal, and 10 bushels of 
Rye Meal. — Stock, 83 head of Cattle, 5 Calves, 221 Sheep, 45 Lambs, 4 working 
Mares, 13 working Horses, and 1 Mule 

■UR. Days. 
DoGUE-RuN Farm for the work of 6 men, 8 women, and 2 girls, amount- 
ing per week to ........ 96 

Cr. — 

By listing in No. 2, 5, by ploughing in Mill meadow 2 . . . 7 

By raising a bank with a plough and hoes in Mill meadow for the fence . 19 

By sawing trunneis 5, mauling do. 5, cutting in Mill meadow 2 . . 12 
By repairing fence around the middle meadow . . . .10 

By repairing fence around No. 2, 7, by spinning 2 . . . 9 

By hauling post and rails to Ferry-Barn, new lane .... 5 

By hauling rails to Mill meadow fence ..... 3 

By hauling rails to the middle meadow fence . .... 2 

By Easter Monday . . . . , . . . 16 

By sickness, Grace 3, Molly 3, Sail 3, Cicely 4 .... 13 

Total. . . 96 

Received from Mill, 6| bushels of Meal. — Stock, 57 head of Cattle, 1 Calf, 124 
Sheep, 9 working Horses, and 1 Mule. 

-UR' Days. 
Joiners and Carpenters for the work of 6 men and 2 boys, amounting 

per week to ....... . 48 

Cr. — 

By Thomas Green making sashes for the new quarter .... 5 

By Maliony putting up the berths in do. ..... 5 

By Isaac making and mending plougiis 4, getting ash for rake-handles 1 . 5 
By Jam making a new cart and sliafts, and getting beach stocks for planes 5 
By Sambo and David sawing gate-stuff 2, getting stocks and ash for rake- 
handles 6 ......... 8 

By Sambo ripping plank on account of rain . - . . 1 

Ry David with Isaac on account of do. ..... 1 

By Joe planing plank ....... 5 

By Christopher at do. 4, and I day with the wagon .... 5 

By Easter Monday ........ 8 



Total 



Dr. Mill for Sundries 

Corn. 

Ferry and French's . 53 

Toll Corn received . 9^ 

Total received . G2^ 

Toll Corn ground . . 56 



Cr. 



By Dogue-Run Plantation 
15y River Plantation 
By Mud.ly Hole 
By Ferry and French's . 
By Mansion-House 

Total delivered 
By Coopers and Miller • 



Meal. 


Bran. 


6f 




9f 




6 




12i 




22 


29 


56£ 


29 


1 





48 



Rye 

Meal. 



10 
6 



16 



LEE'S FUNERAL ORATION ON WASHINGTON. G15 



NOTE VI.-Paoe 361. 

ORATION ON THE DEATH OF GENERAL AVASHINGTON, 

PEONOUNCED BEFOEE BOTH HOUSES OF CONGRESS, ON DECEMBER 16, 1709 
BY MAJOR-GENERAL HENRY LEE. 

In obedience to your will, I rise, your humble organ, with the 
hope of executing a part of the system of public mourning which 
you have been pleased to adopt, commemorative of the death of 
the most illustrious and most beloved personage this country has 
ever produced ; and which, while it transmits to posterity your 
sense of the awful event, faintly represents your knowledge of 
the consummate excellence you so cordially honor. 

Desperate, indeed, is any attempt on earth to meet correspond- 
ently this dispensation of Heaven ; for while, with pious resigna- 
tion, we submit to the will of an all-gracious Providence, we can 
never cease lamenting, in our finite view of Omnipotent Wisdom, 
the heart-rending privation for which our nation weeps. When 
the civilized world shakes to its centre — when every moment 
gives birth to strange and momentous changes — when our 
peaceful quarter of the globe, exempt, as it happily has been, 
from any share in the slaughter of the human race, may yet be 
compelled to abandon her pacific policy, and to risk the doleful 
casualties of war — what limit is there to the extent of our loss ? 
None within the reach of my words to express — none which 
your feelings will not disavow. 

The founder of our federate republic, our bulwark in war, our 
guide in peace, is no more ! that this were but questionable ! 
Hope, the comforter of the wretched, would pour into our ago- 
nizing hearts its balmy dew ; but, alas ! there is no hope for us. 



CI 6 APPENDIX. 

Our Washington is removed for ever ! Possessing the stoutest 
frame and purest mind, he had passed nearly to his sixty-eighth 
year, in the enjoyment of high health, when, habituated by his 
care of us to neglect himself, a slight cold, disregarded, became 
inconvenient on Friday, oppressive on Saturday, and, defying 
every medical interposition, before the morning of Sunday, put 
an end to the best of men. An end did I say ? His fame sur- 
vives ! bounded only by the limits of the earth and by the extent 
of the human mind. He survives in our hearts, in the growing 
knowledge of our children, in the affections of the good throughout 
the world; and, when our monuments shall be done away — •* 
when nations now existing shall be no more — when even our 
young and far-spreading empire shall have perished — still will 
our "Washington's glory unfaded shine, and die not, until love of 
virtue cease on earth, or earth itself sink into chaos. • 

How, my fellow-citizens, shall I single to your grateful hearts* 
his pre-eminent worth ? Where shall I begin in opening to your 
view a character throughout sublime ? Shall I speak of his 
warlike achievements, all springing from obedience to his coun- 
try's will — all directed to his country's good ? 

Will you go with me to the banks of the Monongahela to see 
your youthful Washington supporting, in the dismal hour of In- 
dian victory, the ill-fated Braddock, and saving, by his judgment 
and by his valor, the remains of a defeated army, pressed by the 
conquering savage foe ? Or, when oppressed America, nobly re- 
solving to risk her all in defence of her violated rights, he was 
elevated by the unanimous voice of Congress to the command of 
her armies, will you follow him to the high grounds of Bos- 
ton, where, to an undisciplined, courageous, and virtuous yeo- 
manry, his presence gave the stability of system, and infused 
the invincibility of love of country ? Or shall I carry you to 
the painful scenes of Long Island, York Island, and New Jersey, 
when, combating superior and gallant armies, aided by powerful 
fleets, and led by chiefs high in the roll of fame, he stood the 
bulwark of our safety, undismayed by disaster — unchanged by 
change of fortune? Or will you view him in the precarious 



LEE'S FUNERAL ORATION ON WASHINGTON. 617 

fields of Trenton, where deep glooms, unnerving every arm, 
reigned triumphant through our thinned, worn down, unaided 
ranks, himself unmoved ? Dreadful was the night ! It was 
about this time of winter. The storm raged ; the Delaware, 
rolling furiously with floating ice, forbade the approach of man. 
"Washington, self-collected, viewed the tremendous scene ; his 
country called. Unappalled by surrounding dangers, he passed 
to the hostile shore ; he fought — he conquered ! The morning 
sun cheered the American world. Our country rose on the 
event, and her dauntless chief, pursuing his blow, completed, on 
the lawns of Princeton, what his vast soul had conceived on the 
shores of Delaware. 

Thence to the strong grounds of Morristown he led his small 
but gallant band, and through an eventful winter, by the high 
efforts of his genius, whose matchless force was measurable only 
by the growth of difficulties, he held in check formidable hostile 
legions, conducted by a chief experienced in the art of war, and 
famed for his valor on the ever-memorable heights of Abraham, 
where fell Wolfe, Montcalm, and, since, our much lamented 
Montgomery, all covered with glory. In this fortunate interval, 
produced by his masterly conduct, our fathers, ourselves, ani- 
mated by his resistless example, rallied around our country's 
standard, and continued to follow her beloved chief through the 
various and trying scenes to which the destinies of our Union led. 

Who is there that has forgotten the vales of Brandywine, the 
fields of Germantown, or the plains of Monmouth ? Everywhere 
present, wants of every kind obstructing, numerous and valiant 
armies encountering, himself a host, he assuaged our sufferings, 
limited our privations, and upheld our tottering republic. Shall 
I display to you the spread of the fire of his soul by rehearsing 
the praises of the hero of Saratoga and his much-loved compeer 
of the Carolina ? No, our Washington wears not borrowed 
glory. To Gates — to Green — he gave, without reserve, the 
applause due to their eminent merit ; and long may the chiefs of 
Saratoga and of Eutaws receive the grateful respect of a grate- 
ful people. 



618 APPENDIX. 

Moving in his own orbit, he imparted heat and light to his 
most distant satellites ; and, combining the physical and moral 
force of all witliin his sphere, with irresistible weight he took 
his course, commiserating folly, disdaining vice, dismaying trea- 
son, and invigorating despondency, until the auspicious hour ar- 
rived, when, united with the intrepid forces of a potent and 
magnanimous ally, he brought to submission the since conqueror 
of India ; thus finishing his long career of military glory with a 
lustre corresponding with his great name, and in this, his last 
act of war, affixing the seal of fate to our nation's birth. 

To the horrid din of war sweet peace succeeded ; and our 
virtuous chief, mindful only of the public good, in a moment 
tempting personal aggrandizement, hushed the discontents of 
growing sedition, and, surrendering his power into the hands from 
which he had received it, converted his sword into a plough- 
share, teaching an admiring world that, to be truly great, you 
must be truly good. 

Was I to stop here, the picture would be incomplete and the 
task imposed unfinished. Great as was our "Washington in war, 
and much as did that greatness contribute to produce the Ameri- 
can republic, it is not in war alone his pre-eminence stands con- 
spicuous ; his various talents combining all the capacities of a 
statesman with those of a soldier, fitted him alike to guide the 
councils and the armies of our nation. Scarcely had he rested 
from his martial toils, while his invaluable pa.reutal advice was 
still sounding in our ears, when he who had been our shield and 
our sword was called forth to act a less splendid, but more im- 
portant, part. 

Possessing a clear and penetrating mind, a strong and sound 
judgment, calmness and temper for deliberation, with invinci- 
ble firmness and perseverance in resolutions maturely formed, 
drawing information from all, acting from himself, with incor- 
ruptible integrity and unvarying patriotism, his own superiority 
and the public confidence alike marked him as the man designed 
by Heaven to lead in the great political, as well as military, 
events, which have distinguislied the area of his life. 



lee's funeral oration on WASHINGTON. 619 

The finger of an overruling Providence pointing at Washing 
ton was neither mistaken nor unobserved ; when, to realize the 
vast hopes to which our Revolution had given birth, a change of 
political system became indispensable. 

How novel, how grand, the spectacle — independent states 
stretched over an immense territory, and known only by common 
difficulty, clinging to their Union as the rock of their safety, de- 
ciding by frank comparison of their relative condition to rear on 
that rock, under the guidance of reason, a common government, 
through whose commanding protection liberty and order, with 
their long train of blessings, should be safe to themselves and the 
sure inheritance of their posterity ! 

This arduous task devolved on citizens selected by the people, 
from a knowledge of their wisdom and confidence in their virtue. 
In this august assembly of sages and of patriots, Washington, of 
course, was found ; and, as if acknowledged to be most wise 
where all were wise, with one voice he was declared their chief. 
How well he merited this rare distinction — how faithful were the 
labors of himself and his compatriots, the work of their hands 
and our union, strength, and prosperity — the fruits of that work 
best attest. 

But to have essentially aided in presenting to his country this 
consummation of her hopes, neither satisfied the claims of his 
fellow-citizens on his talents, nor those duties which the possession 
of those talents imposed. Heaven had not infused into his mind 
such an uncommon share of its etherial spirit to remain unem- 
ployed, nor bestowed on him his genius unaccompanied by the 
corresponding duty of devoting it to the common good. To 
have framed a constitution, was showing only, without realizing, 
the general happiness. This great work remained to be done ; 
and America, steadfast in her preference, with one voice sum- 
moned her beloved Washington, unpractised as he was in the 
duties of civil administration, to execute this last act in the com- 
pletion of the national felicity. Obedient to her call, he assumed 
the high office with that self-distrust peculiar to his innate mod- 
esty, the constant attendant of pre-eminent virtue. What was 



620 APPENDIX. 

the bur;t of joy thiough our anxious land on this exhilirating 
event, is known to us all. The aged, the young, the brave, the 
fair, rivalled each other in demonstrations of their gratitude; 
and this high-wrought, delightful scene was heightened in its 
cfl'ect by tlic singular contest between the zeal of the bestowers 
and the avoidance of the receiver of the honors bestowed. Com- 
mencing his administration, what heart is not charmed with the 
recollection of the pure and wise principles announced by him- 
self as the basis of his political life ? He best understood the 
indissoluble union between virtue and happiness, between duty 
and advantage, between the genuine maxims of an honest and 
magnanimous policy, and the solid rewards of public prosperity 
and individual felicity. Watching with an equal and compre- 
hensive eye over this great assemblage of communities and in- 
terests, he laid the foundations of our national policy in tlie un- 
erring, immutable principles of morality, based on religion ; 
exemplifjang the pre-eminence of free government by all the 
attributes which win the afl'ections of its citizens or command the 
respect of the world. 

" O fortunatos dimiura sua sibona norint !" 

Leading through the complicated difficulties produced by pre- 
vious obligations and conflicting interests, seconded by succeed- 
ing houses of Congress, enlightened and patriotic, he surmounted 
all original obstructions and brightened the path of our national 
felicity. 

The presidential term expiring, his solicitude to exchange 
exaltation for humility returned with a force increased with in- 
crease of age ; and he had prepared his farewell address to his 
countrymen, proclaiming his intention, when the united interpo- 
sition of all around him, enforced by the eventful prospects of 
the epoch, produced a further sacrifice of inclination to duty. The 
election of president followed, and Washington, by the unani- 
mous vote of the nation, was called to resume the chief magis- 
tracy. What a wonderful fixture of confidence ! Which attracts 
most our admiration — a people so correct or a citizen combining 
an assemblage of talents forbidding rivalry, and stifling even 



lee's funeral oration on WASHINGTON. 621 

envy itself? Such a nation deserves to be happy — such a chief 
must be for ever revered. 

War, long menaced by the Indian tribes, now broke out ; and 
the terrible conflict, deluging Europe with blood, began to shed 
its baneful influence over our happy land. To the first-outstretch- 
ing his invincible arm, under the orders of the gallant Wayne, 
the American eagle soared triumphant through distant forests. 
Peace followed victory, and the melioration of the condition of 
the enemy followed peace. Godlike virtue, which uplifts even 
the subdued savage ! 

To the second he opposed himself. New and delicate was the 
conjuncture, and great was the stake. Soon did his penetrating 
mind discern and seize the only course continuing to us all the 
blessings enjoyed. He issued his proclamation of neutrality. 
This index to his whole subsequent conduct was sanctioned by 
the approbation of both houses of Congress, and by the approv- 
ing voice of the people. 

To this sublime policy he invariably adhered, unmoved by for 
eign intrusion — unshaken by domestic turbulence. 

" Justum et tenacem propositi virum, 
Non civium ardor prara jubentium, 
Non vultus instantis tyranni 
Mente quatit solida." 

Maintaining his pacific system at the expense of no duty, 
America, faithful to herself and unstained in her honor, contin- 
ued to enjoy the delights of peace, while aflQicted Europe mourns 
in every quarter under the accumulated miseries of an unexam- 
pled war — miseries in which our happy country must have 
shared had not our pre-eminent Washington been as firm in 
council as he was brave in the field. 

Pursuing -steadfastly his course, he held safe the public happi- 
ness, preventing foreign war and quelling internal disorder, till 
the revolving period of a third election approached, when he 
executed his interrupted, but inextinguishable, desire of returning 
to the humble walks of private life. 

The promulgation of his fixed resolution stopped the anxious 



C22 APPENDIX. 

Tvishcs of an affectionate people from adding a third unanimou<i 
testimonial of their unabated confidence in the man so long en- 
throned in their hearts. When, before, was affection like this 
exhibited on earth ? Turn over the records of Greece — review 
the annals of mighty Rome — examine the volumes of modern 
Europe — you search in vain. America and her Washington 
only affords the dignified exemplification. 

The illustrious personage, called by the national voice in suc- 
cession to the arduous office of guiding a free people, had no dif- 
ficulties to encounter. The amicable effort of settling our diffi- 
culties with France, begun by Washington and pursued by his 
successor in virtue as in station, proving abortive, America took 
measures of self-defence. No sooner was the public mind roused 
bv a prospect of danger than every eye was turned to the friend 
of all, though secluded from public view and gray in public ser- 
vice. The virtuous veteran, following his plough,* received the un- 
expected summons with mingled emotions of indignation at the 
unmerited ill-treatment of his country, and of a determination 
once more to risk his all in her defence. 

The annunciation of these feelings in his affecting letter to 
the president, accepting the command of the army, concludes 
his official conduct. 

First in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his counr 
trymen, he was second to none in the humble and endearing scenes 
of private life ; uniform, dignified, and commanding, his example 
was as edifying to all around him as were the effects of that 
example lasting. 

To his equals he was condescending; to his inferiors, kind ; and 
to the dear object of his affections, exemplarily tender ; correct 
throughout, vice shuddered in his presence, and virtue always 
felt his fostering hand ; the purity of his private character gave 
effulgence to his public virtues. 

II is last scene comported with the whole tenor of his life. 
Although in extreme pain, not a sigh, not a groan escaped him ; 

* Greneral Washington, though opulent, gave much of his time and attention to 
practical agricultore. 



LEE'S FUNEEAL ORATION ON WASHINGTON. 623 

and with undisturbed serenity lie closed his well-spent life. Such 
was the man America has lost — such was the man for whom our 
nation mourns. 

Methinks I see his august image, and hear falling from his 
venerable lips these deep-sinking words : — 

" Cease, sons of America, lamenting our separation. Go on 
and confirm, by your wisdom, the fruits of our joint councils, 
joint efforts, and common dangers ; reverence religion ; diffuse 
knowledge throughout your lands ; patronize the arts and sci- 
ences ; let liberty and order be inseparable companions. Con- 
trol party spirit, the bane of free government ; observe good 
faith to, and cultivate peace with, all nations ; shut up every 
avenue to foreign influence ; contract rather than extend national 
connections ; rely on yourselves only ; be Americans in thought, 
word, and deed. Thus will you give immortality to that union 
which was the constant object of my terrestrial labors ; thus will 
you preserve undisturbed, to the latest posterity, the felicity of 
a people to me most dear ; and thus will you supply (if my hap- 
piness is now ought to you) the only vacancy in the round of 
pure bliss high Heaven bestows." 



62'! APPENDIX. 



NOTE VII.-PAaE 516. 

ORIGINAL PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 

As Mr. Custis, in his chapter on the Portraits of Washington, 
has omitted several originals, it is proposed, in as brief space as 
possible in the following article, to notice all that are well 
authenticated, and in the order in which they were painted. 

I. Charles Willson Peale painted the first portrait of Wash- 
ington, in May, 1772. It was done at Mount Vernon ; and, at 
the same time, he painted portraits in miniature of all the rest 
of the family. The original study of "Washington was made of 
small size. The finished picture, full size, now at Arlington 
House, is a copy of it. It is a three-quarter length,' and repre- 
sents Washington in the costume of a Virginia colonel. The 
study was afterward arranged in the continental costume, and 
is now in possession of Charles S. Ogden, Esq. of Philadelphia. 

II. Peale painted a half-length portrait of General and Mrs. 
Washington, in the summer of 1776, for John Hancock ; also a 
miniature of Mrs. Washington. 

III. In December, 1777, Peale completed a miniature of the 
general for Mrs. Washington. It was begun at the close of 
October. While sitting for it, in a farm-house near Skippack 
Creek, in Pennsylvania, the general (who occupied the side of a 
bed, and the artist the only chair in the room) received des- 
patches, advising him of the capture of Burgoyne. He glanced 
at them, and then remained, apparently unconcerned, until the 
sitting was finished. That miniature is published in Irving's 
Life of Washington, under the erroneous impression that it is 



ORIGINAL PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 625 

a portrait of Washington at the age of twenty-five years. Of 
this picture, Peale made several copies. 

IV. Peale painted a whole-length miniature of Washington, 
in 1778, for Lafayette ; also, 

V. A whole length, full size, for the state of Maryland ; 
also, 

VI. A whole length, full size for the state of Pennsylvania. 
A copy of the one painted for Maryland, is in the patent-office 
at Wa'^hington city. 

711. In 1782, Peale painted a full-size head of Washington, 
and, 

VIII. At Eocky Hill, near Princeton, in New Jersey, in the 
autumn of 1783, he painted a full length for the College of New 
Jersey, to occupy a frame that had contained a portrait of George 
the Second. The picture of the king was destroyed by an Amer- 
ican cannon-ball that passed through one of the college buildings 
in which the portrait hung, during the battle of Princeton, in 
1777. That portrait of Washington yet occupies the frame 
that surrounded the king's portrait. It is in Nassau Hall at 
Princeton. 

IX. Joseph Wright, a young painter, made a half-length por- 
trait of Washington at Rocky Hill, in the autumn of 1783. He 
carried a letter of introduction to the commander-in-chief, from 
Doctor Franklin, That portrait is in the possession of the 
Powell family, near Philadelphia. It was presented to Mrs. 
Elizabeth Powell, by General Washington, she being his par 
ticular friend. Wright also painted, 

X. A portrait of Washington for the Count de Solms. It 
was finished in 1784. 

XI. William Dunlap also painted a portrait of Washington in 
the autumn of 1783, at Rocky Hill. He had only one sitting. 
It was a failure. That picture is in the possession of Doctor 
Ellis, of New York city. 

XII. Robert Edge Pine, an English artist, painted Washing- 
ton at Mount Vernon, in 1785. That picture is in the possession 

of J. Carson Brevoort, Esq., of Bedford, Long Island. 

40 



626 APPENDIX. 



I 



XIII. In the autumn of the same year, Houdon, a celebrated 
portrait sculptor, from France, modelled a bust of Washington 
in clay, at Mount Vernon, and afterward executed a full-length 
statue of him, for the state capitol, at Richmond, Virginia, by 
order of the legislature of that commonwealth. 

XIV. In 1786, Peale painted a head of Washington, from life, 
for his own gallery. His brother, James, copied it on a larger 
canvass, and added the figure in military costume, and an atten- 
dant and horse in the background. It is in the possession of 
James Lennox, Esq., of New York city. 

XV. On the first of October, 1789, Washington gave John 
Hamage, an Irish artist, a sitting of two hours. Ramage made 
a portrait of him in miniature for Mrs. Washington. 

XVI. Three days afterward, he gave one sitting to the Mar- 
chioness de Brienne, sister of the Count de Moustier, the French 
minister, to complete a miniature profile of him, " which," he says, 
in his diary, " she had begun from memory, and had made exceed- 
ingly like the original." This was afterward engraved in Paris. 
She also painted a miniature profile of Washington and Lafayette, 
together, in medallion form, on copper, and presented the picture 
to Washington. It is now at Arlington House. 

XVII. On the third of November, 1789, while on his eastern 
tour, Washington sat two hours to Mr. GuUigher, a Boston 
painter, who had a commission from Mr. Samuel Breck, of that 
city. Washington was then at Portsmouth, New Hampshire. 
GuUigher had followed him, and first made a sketch of him by 
stealth, while the general was in the chapel of Mr. Buckminster. 
He then obtained a sitting, and destroyed his stolen sketch. 
That portrait is in the possession of Edward Belknap, Esq., of 
New York. 

XVIII. On the twenty first of December, 1789, Washington 
sat three hours to Edward Savage, an English painter, who had 
been commissioned to execute a portrait of him, for Harvard 
college, at Cambridge, in Massachusetts. Savage was then a res- 
ident of New York. On tlie twenty-eighth, Washington recorded 
in his diary, " Sat all the forenoon for Mr. Savage, who was 



ORIGINAL PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 627 

taking ray portrait." On the sixth of January, he gave him the 
last sitting. That portrait is now at Harvard. 

XIX. In February, 1790, Colonel John Trumbull painted 
Washington's portrait. His object was to make an equestrian 
picture. He also was preparing to paint his historical pictures 
of the battles of Trenton and Princeton, in which Washington 
was engaged. Washington rode out with Trumbull once or 
twice, that the painter might catch his appearance on horseback. 
Trumbull, who was near-sighted, always painted his studies small. 
In that way he portrayed Washington on this occasion, and after- 
ward painted the full length, standing by a horse, which is now 
in the governor's room, in the City Hall, New York. In 1792, 
Trumbull painted several full lengths of Washington. For his 
first and second pictures only did he procure a sitting. All the 
others were copies. 

XX. Early in 1791, Archibald Robertson, a Scotchman, 
painted Washington and his wife, in miniature, and then painted 
a larger portrait for the Earl of Buchan, Robertson having 
been commissioned by the earl to procure one for his collection 
at Dryburgh Abbey. 

XXI. In 1792, Joseph Cerracchi, an Italian sculptor, modelled 
a bust of Washington, from life, and repeated it in colossal size. 
These he took to Europe, and executed in marble. One, of the 
colossal size, was brought to this country by Richard W. Meade, 
of Philadelphia. Congress purchased it for four thousand dol- 
lars. It was destroyed when the Congress library was burnt, in 
December, 1851. A copy of it is in the gallery of the Pennsyl- 
vania Academy of Fine Arts ; another is in the private gallery of 
Gouveneur Kemble, Esq., of Cold Spring, New York. 

XXII. In 1795, Washington sat to Adolph Ulric Wirtmuxler, 
a Swede, and native of Stockholm. It is believed that he had 
only one sitting ; and as a likeness, the picture is considered, in 
many respects, a failure. Washington is represented with a lace- 
frilled shirt bosom, an article he never wore. His ruffles were 
always fine, but plain. The picture it is believed, was purchased 
by Washington, and presented by him to the late Mr. Cazenove, 



628 APPENDIX. 

who took it to Switzerland. It is now in possession of Charles 
Augustus Davis, Esq., of New York city. An engraving of it 
appears in the first volume of Irving's Life of Washington. 

XXIII. In September, 1795, Rembrandt Peale, son of Charles 
Willson Peale, obtained from Washington three sittings, of three 
hours each, and completed a study, from which, in connection 
with a portrait of his father, and Houdon's bust, he painted a 
portrait which was pronounced by the relatives and intimate 
friends of Washington, the best likeness of tlie first president 
that was ever painted. Congress purchased it for two thousand 
dollars, and it now occupies a place over the vice-president's 
chair, in the senate chamber at Washington city. Mr. Peale 
(who is yet [1859] living at the age of nearly eighty-two years) 
was then very young, and his father, to keep him in countenance, 
painted a portrait of the president at the same time. 

XXIV. That portrait, by the elder Peale, is now in the Bryau 
Gallery, New York city. 

XXV. At the same time, James Peale, a brother of Charles 
Willson Peale, painted a miniature of him, and 

XXVI. Another member of the family, made a pencil sketch 
of the president, in profile. 

XXVII. Washington sat to Gilbert Stuart, the eminent por 
trait painter, on the same days when he sat to Rembrandt Peale. 
Stuart was not well satisfied with his own performance. He made 
five copies, and finally sold the original to Winstanley, an English 
landscape painter, for two hundred dollars. Winstanley took it 
to England. It was there bought by Mr. John Vaughan, who 
brought it to Philadelphia, and it is now in possession of Joseph 
Harrison, Esq., of that city. 

XXVIII. Stuart then procured other sittings, that he might 
paint a portrait for Mrs. Washington. The head only was 
finished in the winter of 1795-'9G, and so the picture yet r©« 
mains. It belongs to the Boston Athenaeum, and is the so-called 
standard head of Washington when president. 

XXIX. Stuart's full-length portrait of Washington, painted 
for the Marquis of Lansdowne, in the spring of 179G, can hardly 



ORIGINAL PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 629 

be classed among originals, for Washington gave him only one 
sitting. The head was copied from his second picture ; and a 
small man named "W. R. Smith, with whom Stuart boarded in 
Philadelphia, stood for the figure. The extended hand of Wash- 
ington, was painted from a wax cast of Stuart's own hand, which 
was much smaller than Washington's. 

XXX. The last sitting Washington ever gave to a painter, 
was in 1796, when James Sharpless, an English artist, then in 
Philadelphia, made an admirable profile likeness of him, in 
crayon. Sharpless also painted a profile, in crayon, of Mrs. 
Washington, of these he made several copies. His wife also 
copied that of Washington, in water-color. The originals are at 
Arlington House. They have been pronounced by those of the 
Washington family competent to judge, admirable likenesses.. 
Engravings from them are published in a work by the writer, 
entitled Mount Vernon and its Associations. 



ANALYTICAL INDEX, 



PAGE 

Adams, John, appoints Washington 
to the chief command of the 

army 327 

inaurruration of, as president 433 

Adlum, Major, his account of Small- 
wood's regiment 264 

Agnew, General James, killed at Ger- 

mantown 204 

Agriculture, Washington on 595 

Alexandria, Washington's visit to .. 450 

martial exhibition at 450 

Allen, Colonel Ethan, and Rivington 297 
Allied armies, Chevalier de Barras 

sends vessels for 240 

Allies prepare to attack New York . 230 

march for the South 230 

move against the British at York- 

toAvn 240 

Amoskeag Veterans, visit of, to 

Mount Vernon 62 

Ancestors of Washington 125, 129 

Anderson, Mrs., nurse of Eleanor 

Parke Custis 39 

Andre, Major, theatrical prepara- 
tions of 3G8 

Anecdote of Annapolis race-course. 499 
Bishop, body-servant of Washing- 
ton 377 

Custis, Daniel Parke 497 

Hartley, Colonel 305 

hunting-shirt fellows 268 

Lafayette 248 

Lee, Henry, when at college 356 

Lee, Richard Henry 331 

Mossom, Rev. David 503 

Tarleton, Colonel 253 

Vulcan, a French hound 388 

Washington and his mother's 

blooded horse 132 

Annapolis, old capital of Maryland. 154 

anecdote of race-course at 499 

Arlington Spring, annual gatherings 

at 64 

Armies, allied, prepare to attack New 

York 230 

leave .the Hudson for the South. . . 232 
Army, British, at Germantown, ready 

to retreat 207 

lay down their arms at Yorktowa 247 



PACE 

Arnold, Benedict, expedition of, 
across the wilderness to Que- 
bec 267, 309 

his invasion of Virginia 232, 333 

Asia, British ship-of-war, at New 

York 342 

Asses, presented to Washington by 
the king of Spain and by La- 
fayette 455 

Atlee, Samuel Y., Custis's letter to. 408 

Bacon, rebellion of 13 

Ball, Colonel William, ancestor of 

Washington's mother 129 

Balls, birth-night, and the theatre. . . 364 

Bank of North America 350 

Bard, Doctor, attends President 

Washington 398 

Barfleur, battle of, with the Ville de 

Paris 238 

Hood, Sir Samuel, commander of 

the 238 

Barras, Chevalier de, arrival of, in 

the Chesapeake 239 

sends vessels for the allied armies 240 

Barren Hill, affair at 260 

Allen McLane, at 260 

retreat of Life- Guard from 261 

Barton, Colonel William, in debtors' 

prison 329 

Barter, Philip, agreement of, with 
Washington to abstain from li- 
quor 445 

Battle of the Brandy wine 170 

Eutaw Springs 359 

Germantown 1 9."? 

King's Mountain 272 

Long Island 265, 344 

Monmouth 211 

Princeton 179 

Battles of Saratoga and German- 
town, effects of 217 

Bauman, Major 401 

Baylor, Lieutenant-Colonel, massa- 
cre of corps of 259 

seeks an interest in a privateer. . . 545 
Billy, Washington's huntsman and 

favorite servant 157 

in danger at Monmouth 22*: 



632 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Billy, a diplomat 379 

Biographiciil sketch of Cadwahider, 

General John 212 

Carroll, Rifrlit Rev. John 173 

Craik, Dr. James 474 

De Grasse 233 

Gallatin, Albert 351 

Greene, General 323 

Griffith, Rev. David 291 

Hartley, Colonel Thomas 307 

Haslet', Colonel 186 

Hnniphrcys, Colonel 373 

Izard. Ralph 485 

Kiiapp, U/,al 262 

Lanil), Colonel John 242 

Lee, Henry 356 

Mercer, General 1 S3 

Milllin, Thomas 403 

Molly, Captain 225 

Morj^an, Daniel 308 

Nash, General 204 

Nelson, Governor 339 

Peale, Charles Willson 518 

Pulaski, Count Casimir 195 

Putnam, Israel 282 

Rivinirton, James 293 

Rush, Dr. Benjamin 186 

Rush, Hon. Riehnrd 184 

iSeott, General Charles 414 

Smith, Samuel Stanhope 77 

Stockton, Richard 177 

Stuart, Gilbert Charles 520 

Tarleton, Colonel 252 

Thomson, Chailes 382 

Trnmhnll, Governor 281 

Trumbull, John, the painter 285 

TrnmbuU, Jonathan 174 

AVashinj^toii, Bushrod 470 

AVasiiinLTton, William 354 

White, Riixht Rev. William 173 

Williams, Utho HoUaitd 355 

Bird, Lieutenant, killed at German- 
town 204 

Birth of Geor{;e Wasliinf;ton Parke 

Custis 33 

Birth-nifjht balls and the theatre 364 

Birth-ni^rht ball, last one attended by 

Washiu^aon '. 366 

Birth-night ode 365 

Bishop, Washinj^ton's oldest body- 
servant 158 

too old for service in war 161 

his character 161 

in the battle of the Monon;jja- 

hcla 374 

commeiuied to Washinj!:t< n 375 

at Mount Vernon and in the Rev- 
olution 376 

anecdote of 377 

Blenheim, news of iho battle of, car- 
ried to yneen Anne by ^Colonel 

P;uke 23 



PAGE 

Blooded horse belonging to Wash- 
ington's mother, anecdote re- 
specting 132 

Blueskin, Washington's hunting 

horse 387 

Boquet, Colonel 267 

Boston, siege of 280 

Botetourt, governor of Viririnia. 154, 396 
Botta, Charles, his estimate of Wash- 
ington's achievements 190 

Braddock, General, at the battle of 

the Monongahela 374 

commends Bishop to Washington . 37.5 

death of 376 

Brandy wine, battle of 170 

Breck, Samuel, letter of, concerning 

a dinner-party in Boston 365 

Brienne, Madame de, profiles of 

Washington and Lafayette by . 517 
Brown, Doctor, called to see Wash- 
ington 475 

Burnahy, Rev. Andrew, account of 

his travels in Virginia 166 

Burr, Colonel Aaron 345 

Busts of Washington and Hamilton 525 

Bvrd, Colonel William 15 

"letters of 26-33 

son of, Washington's rival in 
horses 396 

Cabal, Conway's 277 

Cadwalader, General John 212 

Calvert, Eleanor, wife of John Parke 

Custis 33 

Calvert family, Hope Park the resi- 
dence of 114 

Cambridge, headquarters at 273 

Campbell, Major, British officer at 

Yorktown". 241 

Camp, Mrs. Washington in 138 

Cannon, French, in the arsenal at 

Richmond 239 

Canova, statue of Washington by... •525 
Carrington, Mrs., letter of, respect- 
ing the domestic life of Mrs. 

Washington 510 

Carroll, Right Rev. John, D.D 173 

Cary, one of Washington's ser- 
vants, death of 451 

Cerracchi, busts of Washington and 

Hamilton, by 525 

Chamberlayne, Colonel, introduces 

Washington to Mrs. Custis 499 

Charleston, siege and surrender of. . 334 
Cliesapeake, arrival of the Cheva- 
lier de Barras in the 239 

Chew's house at Gcrmantown 198 

Churcli, WashiiiL'ton a communicant 

of the Protestant Episcopal. ... 173 

Cincinnati, society of the 409 

on national aTiniversaries 429 

City Tavern, at Philadelphia 40'! 



INDEX. 



633 



PAGE 

Clarke, the maker of Washington's 

coach 424 

Clarke, Washington's watch-maker, 

in Philadelphia 454 

Clinton, General Sir Henry, suc- 
cessor of General Howe 211 

orders of, to Cornwallis 231 

Coachmen of Washington, John Fa- 

gan and John Kruse 424, 426 

Cohh, Colonel, at Yorktown 242 

Cochran, Colonel, British officer at 

Yorktown 244 

daring exploits of, and death 245 

Colfax, William, commandant of 

Washington's Life-Guard 259 

College (Columbia), King's 340 

Colors, delivery of British, to Amer- 
icans at Yorktown 249 

Confederation, Articles of 3S1 

Congress, Continental, first one in 

1774 331 

anecdote of R. H. Lee in connec- 
tion with 331 

Congress, Federal, its first session in 
New York, the seat of govern- 
ment 287 

thanks of, to Washington and his 
soldiers for conduct at Mon- 
mouth 227 

proceedings of, in relation to Wash- 
ington's death 478 

Constitution, federal, formation of. . 349 
Convention of states proposed, to 

amend Articles of Confederation 348 

adopt a federal constitution 349 

Conway's cabal 277 

Cook, Hercules, Washington's chief 422 

Cornwallis, Earl 189 

at Williamsburg, Jamestown, 

and Yorktown 232 

earth-retreat of, at Yorktown .... 244 
contemplates flight from York- 
town 245 

surrender of, at Yorktown 247 

with Washington at Yorktown. . . 249 
entertained at dinner by Washing- 
ton 250 

in Virginia 334 

in chief command in the Carolinas 334 
Correspondence between Washing- 
ton and George Washington 

Parke Custis 73 

Correspondence between Washing- 
ton and John Parke Custis. 533-570 
Cotton-jilant, views of Alexander 

Hamilton respecting the 341 

Councils of war, held at Valley 
Forge and at Hopewell, New 

Jersey 212 

Cowpens, Morgan at the 320 

Craik, Dr. James, attends General 

Nash at Germantown 203 



PACE 

Craik, Dr. James, refers to Indian 

prophecy, at Monmouth 223 

accompanied Washington to the 

Ohio in 1770 300 

effect of the Indian prophecy on 

the mind of 305 

" Crisis," by Thomas Paine 220 

Cropper, Colonel, anecdote of 170 

Cully, his recollections of Washing- 
ton's marriage 501 

Custis, Daniel Parke, and Evelyn 

Byrd ) 8 

loves Martha Dandridge 19 

marriage of 19 

death of 20,496 

anecdote of 497 

children of 496 

Custis, Eleanor Parke, and George 

Washington Parke 394, 

Custis, Fanny Parke, marriage of.. 18^ 
Custis, George Washington Parke, 

birth of. 33 

adopted by Washington 38 

indulged by his grandmother 38 

appointed Cornet 51 

made aid-de-camp to General 

Pinckne}' 51 

residence of, at Mount Vernon 

after Washington's death 52 

marriage of 52 

remembrance of, in Washington's 

will .52 

children of 56 

eniployment of leisure hours of.. . 58 

drama written by 59 

letters to his wife 58-60 

his talent for oratory 60 

oration of, on the occasion of the 

death of General Lingan. . . .61, 571 
oration of, on the Russian victo- 
ries 61, 585 

letter to, from the Russian minis- 
ter 61 

sjicech of, at Wasliington's tomb, 

before the Amoskeag Veterans. 64 

interest of, in agricultural affairs. 66 

a volunteer in 1812 66 

with Lafayette in 1 824, '25 66 

presents a ring to Lafiiyette at 

Washington's tomb 67, 591 

his " Conversations icith Lafaijette' 68 

painting by 68 

death and funeral of 09 

notice of in the National Intelli- 
gencer 71 

personal appearance of. 72 

letter of, respecting Mrs. Washing 

ton 408 

Custis, Mnjor-General John, col- 
lector of customs 18 

his will 14 

his children 14 



634 



INDEX. 



Custis, Major-Gencral John, raar- 

ria<rc of', to Fanny Parke 15 

love-letter of, to Fanny Farke 16 

inscrifition on tlie tomb of 17 

Custis, John Parke, marriage of, to 

Eleanor Calvert 33, 37 

at college in New York 37 

children of 37 

sickens at Yorktown, in camp. 254, 504 
dies at Eltham 38, 255, 505 

Custis, Mrs., character of, delineated 53 
death of 56 

Custis, Mrs. Martha, marriage of, 

with Wash^itrton 21 

death of the daughter of 21 



Dandridge, Miss Martha 

marriage of, to Daniel Parke Cus- 
tis 20, 

children of. 

"Darby's Return," performed before 

Washington 

Davies, Rev. Samuel, his prophetic 

allusion to AVashington 

Davis, Tom, Washington's huntsman 

canvass-back ducks shot by 

Death of Braddock 

Cary, one of Washington's ser- 
vants, at the age of one hundred 

and fourteen years 

Cochran, Colonel, at Yorktown. . 

Custis, Daniel Parke 20, 

Custis, George Washington Parke 
Custis, John Parke, at El- 
tham 38, 255, 

~ Custis, Mrs. G. VV. P 

Fauntlcroy,Captain, at Monmouth 
Leslie, Captain, son of the earl of 

Levin 

Mercer, General Hugh 

Monckton, Colonel 

Nash, General 

Parke, Colonel Daniel 

Washington, Lear's narration of. 
Henry Lee's oration on 360, 479, 
proceedings of Congress in rela- 
tion to 

Death-room, Washington's, group in 
Debtors' prison, Robert Morris in. . 

Wasliington visits Morris in 

Colonel William Barton in 

De Chastellux, Marquis, Mount Ver- 
non spoken of, in Travels of, in 

America 

with Wasliington in Virginia .... 
Declaration of Independence, notice 

of some siirners of 

Deer-park at Mount Vernon 

De Grasse, Count, expected in Ches- 
apeake ba\' 

sketch of 

£eet of, in Chesapeake bay 



19 

496 
20 

367 

304 
457 
458 
376 



451 
245 

496 
69 

505 

56 

221 

187 
183 
221 
203 
25 
472 
615 

479 
472 
327 
327 
329 



167 
235 

395 
389 

231 
233 
233 



PACB 

De Grasse, Count, Washington's 

reception of 236 

Despatch, important, to Governor 

Trumbull . . . , 283 

D'Estaing, Count, commands a 
French fleet on the American 
coast 213 

Dick, Doctor, called to see Washing- 
ton 475 

Domestic life of Washington, from 

1759 to 1775 464 

of Mrs. Washington 510 

Drama written by John Parke Cus- 
tis 59 

Drawing-rooms of Mrs. Washing- 
ton 395,408 

Dunlap, William, quoted from 367 

Dunmore, Lord, marauding expedi- 
tions of 333 

Dutchmen as soldiers, Morgan's 

opinion of 309 

Echard, Mrs. Susan R., description 
of the scene at Washington's 
valedictory 434 

Eden, Sir Robert, governor of Marv- 

land .' . 1 54 

Elk, Head of, combined armies at. . 239 

Eltham, death of John Parke Custis 

at 38,255, 505 

Emigrants, distinguished French, 
sought the protection of tlie 
president 448 

Erskine, Lord, letter of, to Washing- 
ton 528 

Essays, political, by churchmen, an- 
swered by Hamilton 341 

Ethan Allen and Rivington 297 

Eutaw Springs, battle at 359 

Everett, Edward, his remarks on the 
removal of Washington's re- 
mains 442 

Eyes of Washington, color of the . . 527 

Facsimile of surveys bv Washing- 
ton "....' .445 

Fagan, John, Washington's coach- 
man 424 

Father Jack, Washington's fisher- 
man 456 

Fauntlcroy, Captain, death of, at 

JMoniiiouth 221 

Federal Congress, notice of . . . .287, 395 
Federal constitution, adoption of . . . 349 

" Federalist," writers of the 349 

Ferguson, Major Patrick, killed at 

King's mountain 272 

Fifer-boy, informs Washington of 

the retreat of Lee 217 

Fish, Major, at Yorktown ... 241 

Fish, Nicholas, his account of a din- 
ner iu Paris 274 



INDEX. 



635 



PAGE 

Fitzgerald, Colonel, his account of 
Wiishington in the field at 

Princeton 190 

on tlic Imttlo-field at Princeton. . . 192 

at Alexandria 452 

Forts Mercer and Mifflin 194 

" Forty-five," rebellion of 270 

" Forty-twa," Highland rcfjinient, 

called the 270 

Fox, kind of, hunted in Virfiinia... 387 

th? famous black 388 

the red 388 

France, expected war with 447 

naval war with 447 

Frederick the Great, his opinion of 

Washinirton's exploits 1 90 

French and Indian war, orifjin of.. . 158 
French fleet and army come to 

America 229 

Frestel, M , }'onn2: Lafayette's tu- 
tor, at Mount Vernon 448 

F^-aunces, Samuel, Washington's 

steward 411 

keeps tavern in New York 420 

extravagance of, rebuked by Wash- 
ington 421 

Gallatin, Albert, his eulogy of Ham- 
ilton '.'. 351 

biographical sketch of 351 

Gates, General, his praise of Mor- 
gan's corps 268 

Germantown, hatile of 193 

arrangement of attack upon 197 

Americans defeated at 206 

effect of battle of. 206 

Washington and soldiers com- 
mended by Congress for con- 
duct at 206 

Gibbs, Caleb, commandant of Life- 

Guard 256 

Washington's letters to 258 

Giles, Tommy 413 

Gordon, Doctor, relates what Wash- 
inffton said of bloody foot-prints 

of soldiers 210 

Graves, Admiral, off the Capes of 

Virginia 238 

Gray, General, at the battle of Ger- 
mantown 203 

Great Meadows, conflict at 159 

Greene, General, at Germantown... 201 

biographical sketch of 323 

Washington's favorite officer 324 

Peak's picture of, at Valley 

Forge 518 

Greene. Rev. Ashhel, his recollec- 
tions of Washintrton 434 

Griffith, Rev. David, warning of, 

given to Wjishington 290 

bioirraphical sketch of 291 

Griswold, Fort, massacre at 242 



Grymes, Lieutenant, on the field at 

Geimanfown lofi 

Gurley, 11. R., letter of, to Mrs. Lee 

concerning Mr. Custis 10 

" Hail Columbia " 36^ 

its origi?) 3(59 

Hale, Sir Matthew, writings of, at 

Mount Vernon 171 

Hamilton, Alexander, at German- 
town 200 

at the battle of Monmouth 219 

at Yorktown 240 

birthplace of 340 

his arrival in New York 340 

views of, respecting the cotton- 
plant 341 

political essays by churchmen an- 
swered by 341 

tliouLiht of returning to the West 

Indies 342 

persuaded to stay in New York. . 342 

joins a volunteer corps 342 

letter of, to Washington, before 

the battle of Long Island 343 

comjiany of artillery of, join the 

continental army 344 

at the ])assage of the Raritan 344 

interview of, with Washington. . . 344 

with Washington 345 

dependence of Washington upon. 346 
retirement of, from Washington's 

family 346 

at the siege of Yorktown 240, 347 

retires from the army 348 

proposes a convention of the states 
to amend the Articles of Con- 
federation 348 

efforts of, in favor of the federal 

constitution 349 

recommended for secretary of the 

treasury 349 

his appointment 350 

eulogy of, by Gallatin 351 

his resi<_Miation of the office of sec- 
retary of the treasury 352 

his prediction respecting the con- 
stitution 352 

Hampton, Washington and other 

officers at ~. 235 

Hands of Washington very large 523, 527 

Hartley, Colonel, anecdote of 305 

notice of 307 

Haslet, Colonel, death of 186 

sketch of 186 

Hazlitt, sketch of Washington from 

the pen of 430 

Head of Elk, combined armies 

at ..239 

Headquarters of Washington, notice 

of remains of 273 

at Cambridge and Morristown. . . 273 



636 



INDEX. 



FA6B 

Ilciulquarters of Washington at 
Ncwhiirirh, West Point, and 

New Windsor 274 

joy at, on sccin<; supplies coming 

from Connecticut 285 

several of tiie buildings yet stand- 
ing 288 

Hercules, Washington's chief cook. 422 

Hessians at Yorktown 248 

afraid of Morgan's riflemen 269 

how they came to be in America.. 269 

Holidays, national, salutes on 429 

Home and household of Wasiiington 400 
Hood, Sir Samuel, commander of 

tlie Barfleur 238 

Hope Park, residence of the Calvert 

family 114 

Horses, Wnshin'jrton's 38.') 

Houdon, his lialf bust of Washington 517 

Hounds, Washington's 384 

present of, to Washington from 

Lafayette 386 

Howe, SirWilliam, army of, quar- 
tered at Germantown 194 

Humphreys, Colonel, biographical 

sketc^h of 373 

at Mount Vernon 373 

one of Washington's secretaries. . . 394 

recites his poetry at night 399 

Hunt at Mount Vernon 390 

Hunting-shirt, the 264 

Ciistis's remarks on 266 

Wasliington's advocacy of it 266 

" Hunting-shirt fellows," anecdote of 268 
Huntsman, Tom Davis, Washing- 
ton's 457 

Inauguration of President Adams . . 433 
Independent Blues of Alexandria, 

reviewed by Washington ...... 452 

Indian prophecy 223, 3iM) 

related by Ur. Craik 304 

Indian war in the West 416 

Intelliirencer, National, Custis's 

"Recollections " printed in 9 

Izard, Ralph, resemblance of, to 

Washington 485 

notice of 485 

Jackson, Major, Washington's aid- 
de-camp 394 

Jackson, one of Washington's 

chargers 425 

Icffersou, Thomas, his opinion of 

Washington 214 

Jersey prison-ship. General Lingan 

among the sulferers in the 574 

Kanawha, Washington's visit to the, 

in 1770 300 

King's Mountain, battle of 272 

Major Patrick Ferguson killed at. 272 



PAGE 

King of Spain, asses presented to 

Washington by 455 

Knapp, Uzal, last survivor of Wash 

ington's Life-Guard 262 il 

sketch of 262 I 

Knowlton, Colonel, his military corps 256 •' 

Knox, General, at Germantown 200 

opposed to leaving Chew's house 

in the rear 200 

proposes the society of the Cincin- 
nati .' 409 

Kruse, John, Washington's coach- 
man 425 

Lady Washington's dragoons, Bay- 
lor's corps 259 

Lafayette, Marquis de, visit of, to 

"the United States 67 

at tiie tomb of Washington.. . .67, 591 
visit of, to Washington's mother . 144 

at Mount Vernon 144 

in council of war, near Monmouth 212 

in Virginia 232, 334 

refuses the honor of capturing 

Cornwallis 234 

influence of, with De Grasse 237 

wife of 237 

anecdote of 248 

at Barren Hill 260 

impi'isonment and exile of 449 

asses presented to Washington 

by 455 

astonishment of, at the size of his 

Virginia recruits 485 

urged Truml)ull to paint an eques- 
trian portrait of Washington. . . 529 

ring presented to, by Custis 591 

Lafayette, George Washington, let- 
ter of, to Mr. Custis 67 

residence of, at Mount Vernon. 96, 448 
his departure from the United 

States 449 

Lamb, Colonel John, sketch of. ... . 242 
Lansdowne, Maniuis of, portrait of 

Washington painted for . . .522, 624 
Land speculation, career of Robert 

Morris and others in 326 

Last hours of Washington 472 

Lank, Mr., last survivor of Morgu* ? 

rifle corps 309 

Laurens, Colonel John, at the battle 

of Germantown 199 

sketch of 241 /r 

at Yorktown 241, 341. ■>■ 

Lear, Tobias 394^ 

his account of Washington's recep- 
tion of the news of St. Clair's 

defeat 418 

Washington's secrctnrr 472 

his narrative of Washington's 

death 472 

Ledyard, Colonel, death of 57S 



INDEX. 



637 



PAGE 

Lee, General Charles, against pro- 
posed attack on Clinton 212 

his misconduct at the battle of 

Monmouth 219 

his interview with Washington at 

Monmouth 293 

Lee, Henry, letter of, to young Cus- 

tis 57 

sketch of 356 

anecdote of, when at college 356 

exploit of, at Paulus's Hook. .357, 562 

legion of, in the South 358 

officers of 358 

exploit of, near Valley Forge 358 

at Eutaw Springs 359 

retires from the army 359 

commander of troops to put down 
the " Whiskey Insurrection ". . 359 

a delegate in Congress 359 

his oration on the occasion of the 
death of Washington. .360, 479, 615 

misfortunes of 361 

death of 361 

character of 361 

his impromptu eulogiura of Pat- 
rick Henry 362 

his words concerning Washington 362 
attachment of, to Washington. . . . 363 
Lee, Mrs. Mary Custis. wife of Colo- 
nel R. E. Lee 56 

Lee, Richard Henry, and the Conti- 
nental Congress 331 

Leslie, Captain, son of the earl of 

Levin, death of. 187 

Letter to author of "Recollections " 
concerning an officer killed at 

Germantovvn 205 

Letters of Bynl, Colonel William. 27-33 
Baron von Washington respecting 

his family 126 

Custis, Daniel Parke, to his 

wife 58-60 

respecting Mrs. Washington. . . 408 
Custis, G. W. P., to Gideon Snow 40 

to Washington 73-116 

Custis, John Parke and Washing- 
ton 533-570 

Custis, Major-General John, to 

Fanny Parke 16 

Earl of Buchan to Mrs. Washing- 
ton 511 

Gurley, R. R., to Mrs. Lee respect- 
ing Mr. G. W. P. Custis 10 

Hamilton to Washington, before 

the battle of Long Island 343 

Lafayette, George Washington to 

Mr. G. W. P. Custis 67 

Lee, Henry, to young Custis 57 

Lord Erskine to Washintjton 528 

M'Henry, James, to G. W. P. Cus- 
tis 51 

Madison to Mrs. G. W. P. Custis.65,6-6 



Letters of Parke, Colonel Daniel, 

to his daughter 15, 23 

Potter, Colonel, respecting speech 

of Mr. Custis 64 

Russian minister to G. W. P. 

Custis 61 

Snow, Gideon, to G. W. P. Cus- 
tis 39 

Waller, Benjamin, to Mrs. Martha 

Custis 498 

Washington to Benedict Calvert . . 34 

Nelly Custis 41 

Lawrence Lewi.s 45, 46, 49 

G. W. P. Custis 73-116 

Mr. M'Dowell, president of col- 
lege fit Annapolis 98 

deceptive 233 

Caleb Gibbs 258 

respecting a dancing assembly 

at Alexandria 366 

Mr. Rumney 372 

copied by Rawlins, not to be 

found 438 

John Parke Custis 533-570 

Washington, Mrs., respecting the 

remains of her husband 441 

to J. P. Custis and his wife. . . . 547 
Levees, kind of persons who at- 
tended the 409 

Lewis, Lawrence, Washington's let- 
ters to 45, 46, 49 

Washington's secretary 394 

marriage of, to Nelly Custis, at 

Mount Vernon 450 

Lewis, Mrs. Eleanor Parke Custis. . 39 

her beauty and character 40 

Lexington, news of battle of 282 

events connected with battle of. . . 282 

Life at Mount Vernon 370 

Life-Guard, Washington's, 256 

how organized 256 

historical sketch of 257 

uniform of. 257 

reoriranization of 258 

William Colfax, commandant of. 259 

at Monmouth 261 

in the retreat from Barren Hill. . . 261 
Uzal Knapp, last survivor of ... . 262 

Life-pictures, outline 462 

Lingan, General James M., Custis's 

oration on the death of 571 

Liquor, agreement of Philip Barter 
with Washington, to abstain 

from 445 

Long, Captain Gabriel, at Mon- 
mouth 262 

captain in Morgan's regiment. ... 311 
Long Island, reference to battle of . 247 

battle of 265, 344 

prisoners at 266 

Louis Philippe, visit of, at Mount 
Vernon 448 



638 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

M'Comb, Washington occupies the 

house of 400 

M'Dowill, Mr., president of collef;e 
at Annapolis, Washington's let- 
ter to 98 

M'Finyial, quotation from 227 

JI'Henrv. James, letter of, to G. W. 

P. Custis 51 

M'lvcrs, Mrs., accident to, at Mrs. 

Wasliintrton's reception 396 

M'Lane, Allen, at Barren Hill 200 

M'Pherson Bines, a guard of honor 479 

only survivors of 479 

Madison, rresident, letters of, to Mr. 

G. W. P. Custis 65,66 

Magnolia 426 

Marbois, M., dinner given by, to 

Americans in Paris 274 

Marquees, Washington's description 

of 279 

where made, and by whom 280 

Marriage, Cully's recollections of 

Washington's 501 

Custis, Fanny Parke 18 

Custis, John Parke, to Eleanor 

Calvert 33,37 

Custis, Major-General Jolm, to 

Fanny Parke 16 

Custis, Mrs. Martha, with Wash- 
ington 21 , 502 

Dandri(ige,'Miss Martha, to Dan- 
iel Parke Custis 2(), 496 

Maryland, Annapolis, the old capital 

of" 154 

Massacre of corps of Lieutenant- 
Colonel Baylor 259 

Mathews, Colonel, at Germantown . 202 

Matson's Ford 261 

Mawhood, Colonel, regiment of, at 

Princeton 187 

in battle at PriTiceton 191 

Memoirs, Washington declines af- 
fording materials for his 437 

Memoir of George Washington 

Parke Custis 172 

Mercer, General Hugh, death of. . . . 180 
monument to, ordered by Con- 
gress 1 82 

son of, educated by the public. ... 1 82 

particulars of death of 184 

monument in memory of 184 

funeral ceremonies of 185 

Merchantmen, armed, salutes of, be- 
fore Mount Vernon 447 

Mifflin, Thomas, on recruiting ser- 
vice 332 

biographical sketch of. 403 

Militia, Washington's opinion of. 187, 538 

Minuet, danced by Washington 366 

Molly, Captain, at Monmouth 224 

sketch of 225 

exploits of. 286 



PAGE 

Monckton, Colonel, death of, at Mon- 
mouth 221 

Monmouth courthouse, American 

army approach to 211 

Monmouth, battle of 211 

Monmouth, events on the field of . . 218 

retreat of Americans at, checked. 221 

retreat of British from 226 

Congress thanks Washington and 

soldiers for conduct at 227 

night-scene in the commander-in- 
chief's tent, near 289 

Monongahela, Braddock at the bat- 
tle of the 374 

Moore's house, at Yorktown, place 
where capitulation was agreed 

upon 253 

Moreau, John B., his collection of 

Washington's portraits 480 

Morgan, Daniel 308 

his corps at Monmouth 262 

his laugh at the Life-Guard 262 

corps of, with Arnold at Quebec . .267 
riflemen of, made prisoners at 

Quebec 267 

description of riflemen of 267 

General Gates's praise of corps of 268 

rifle corps of, how formed 270 

biographical sketch of. 308 

accompanies Arnold across the 

" wilderness 309 

his opinion of " Dutchmen " as sol- 
diers 309 

personal reminiscence of. 310 

disobeys orders 313 

interview of, with Washington. . . 315 

anticipating disgrace 317 

Washington's forgiveness of 319 

congratulated by officers 319 

at the Cowpens 320 

member of Consrress 321 

his opinion of Washington 322 

demurs at General I.ee's appoint- 
ment 359 

Morris, Robert 328 

in Washington's camp at Dobb's 

Ferry 231 

loans money of a Quaker 294 

his financial aid to the colonies . . 323 
one of Washington's best-loved 

friends 325 

his services in the cause of his 

country 325 

Washington's favorite guest 326 

his inclination to speculate 326 

in prison, visited by Washington . 327 

how treated by his countrymen. . . 328 

appearance of, in prison 328 

recommends Hamilton for secre- 
tary of the treasury 849 

establishes Bank of North Amer- 
ica 350 



INDEX. 



639 



PAGE 

Morris, Eobert, Washington's wel- 
come puest 430 

Morristown, camp at, alarmed 139 

lieadquartcrs at 273 

location of lieadquarters at 275 

Mossom, Ecv. David, officiated at 

Washington's marriage 502 

anecdote of 503 

Mother of Washington, memoir of . 125 

ancestors of 129 

character of '. . . 1 30 

recollections of, by Lawrence 

Wasltington .' 131 

residence of, during the war 135 

her patriotism 137 

examjile of 139 

foreign officers astonished at sim- 
ple manners of 143 

her fear of h'ghtning 141 

Washiniiton's last visit to her 141 

visited by Lafayette 144 

personal appearance of 146 

resemblance of daughter of, to the 

general 147 

grave of, and monument to 148 

Moulder, Captain, commands artil- 
lery at Princeton 191 

maker of Washington's tents.... 280 
Mount Vernon, visit of Amoskeag 

Veterans to 02 

Washington at 151 

Mount Vernon, origin of the name 

of 152 

spoken of bv De Chastellux in his 

Travels.." 167 

life at 370 

improvements at 371, 449 

visit of Louis Phili]ipe at 44.'> 

visit of a German gentleman at . . 460 

associations of 462 

mansion of, described 503 

guests at 505 

Mules, extraordinary, raised by 

Washington 456 

Munson, Dr. Eneas, his account of 

Washinirton at Yorktown 279 

Musgrave, Lieutenant- Colonel, at 

battle of Germantown 198 

Mysteries of the Revolution 289 

Narraganset pony at Mount Ver- 
non 458 

Nash, General, mortally wounded at 

Germantown 202 

death of 203 

burial-place of 204 

monument to 204 

Naval, engagement between English 
and French off Capes of Vir- 
ginia 239 

Neely, Matthew, child of, in Ireland, 
named George Washington 172 



FAec 
Nelson, Mr., Washington's secretary 394 
Nelson, Secretary, house of, at York- 
town, injured 244 

Nelson, Thomas, notice of. 330 

signer of the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence 332 

active as a military officer 333 

sacrifices of, for his country 336 

at the siey:e of Yorktowu /. 336 

patriotism of. 243, 336 

obtains money on his own security 

for public use 337 

house of .' . 337 

losses of, never made up by the 

government 338 

beloved by Washington 338 

his son made Washington's pri- 
vate secretary 338 

family of, left in poverty 339 

official career of 339 

Nelson, war-horse of Washington at 

Yorktown 249 

at Mount Vernon 249 

Newburgli, lieadquarters at, de- 
scribed 274 

representation of, in Paris 274 

New Windsor, hcadqu;irters at 274 

Nicholas, Colonel John, of the Life- 

Guard 262 

Nicholas, Pober^ C, legal adviser of 

Mrs. Custis 497 

Nicholson John, in Walnut street 

prison 328 

Norfolk, ravages of British in neigh- 
hood of 334 

North Lord, his reception of the 

news of Cornwallis's defeat 250 

Ode, birth-night 365 

Ogle, Governor, Washington pro- 
cured deer from 389 

O'Hara, General, delivers Cornwal- 
lis's sword to Lincoln 248 

Old Point Comfort, Washington and 

other officers at 235 

Oration of G. W. P. Cnstis on occa- 
sion of the death of Lingan. . . . 571 
in celebration of the Russian vic- 
tories over Napoleon 585 

of General Lee on the death of 
Washington 615 

Original portraits of Washington 516, 624 

Outline life-pictures 462 

Paine, Thomas, author of " The Cri- 
sis " 220 

Paper-money, issues of, by Congress 335 

depreciation of 335 

Parke, Colonel Daniel, letters of, to 

his daughter .15, 23 

bearer of news of battle of Blen- 
heim to Queen Anne 23 



,40 



INDEX. 



PACE 

Parke, Colonel Daniel, account of. . 22 
governor of Leeward Islands .... 24 

death of 25 

will of 26 

Parliament, British, dehates in, con- 

cerninfT cessation of the war. . . 260 
Paulus's Hook, position of and 

events at 357, 562 

Washinj^ton at 402 

Peale, Charles Willson, description 
of his first portrait of Washing- 
ton 516 

Washington's full-length portrait 

by 518 

biographical sketch of 518 

his account of Washington's 

strength 519 

Pealc, James 524 

Peale, Rcmbr.andt, his recollections 

of Washington's valedictory. . . 4.34 

portrait of Washington, by 524 

equestrian portrait of Washington, 

by 524 

Piercy, Captain, commands Inde- 
pendent Blues at Alexandria. . 452 
Pepper, Mrs., letter of Colonel 

Cusiis to ... 18 

Personal appearance of Washington 480 
Peters, Richard, in Washington's 

camp at Dobbs's Ferry 231 

Pinckney, Colonel, at Germanlown. 200 
his opinion of Washington's judg- 
ment 360 

Poellniiz, Baron de, thrashing ma- 
chine of 167 

Portraits of Washington, Moreau's 

collection of 480 

general resemblance among the. . 480 

originals at Arlington House 516 

an eciuestrian, by Trumbull 519 

by Charies Willson Peale 516 

by Gilbert Charles Stuart 520 

painted for Marquis of Lans- 

downe 522 

by WertmuUcr 526 

notice of all the original 624 

Potter, Colonel, letter of, to Mr. Los- 
sing, concerning Mr. Custis's 

speech 64 

Prescott, one of Washington's 

chargers 425 

Presidenev, first year of the 393 

" President's March " 368 

Presidential mansion, visiters at.. . . 414 

Pretender, Scotch, notice of 270 

Princeton, battle of 179 

Prison, Walnut street, Morris and 

his friends in 327 

Prisoner f )r Debt, poem, by J. G. 

Whitticr, extract from 329 

Prisoners, deposition of, taken at 

Yorktown 250 



PaC8 

Privateering, Washington a specu- 
lator in the profits of 533, 545 

Proctor, Colonel 412, 429 

Prophecy, Indian 300 

Dr. Craik refers to, at Mon- 
mouth 223 

Pulaski, Count, at battle of German- 
town 195 

sketch of 195 

Putnam, Israel, hears of the battle of 

Lexington 282 

biographical sketch of 282 

Quakers opposed to the Revolution. 295 
Quebec, Benedict Arnold's expedi- 
tion to 267, 309 

Ramsay, Lieutenant - Colonel, at 

Monmouth 219 

Rawlins, Albert, employed to copy 

Washington's letters 437 

Recollections and private memoirs 
of Washington, author's pref- 
ace to 121 

Redoubt, British at Yorktown, taken 

by storm 241 

Reed, Colonel, at Germantown .... 200 

Remains of Washington, remarks of 
Edward Everett respecting re- 
moval of 442 

final action of Congress respect- 
ing 443 

Retreat of American army at Mon- 
mouth 217 

from Barren Hill 261 

Revolution, crowning event of 247 

mysteries of the 289 

Rickets's opinion of Washington as 

a horsem.an 485 

Rivington, James, biographical 

sketch of 293 

hated by the wiiigs 293 

his secret service for Washing- 
ton 296, 299 

Freneau's satire on 296 

Rochambeau, Count, with Washing- 
ton in Virginia 231, 235 

Robert Morris 323 

Rodney, Admiral, in West Indies . . 238 

Rogers, Colonel 413 

Ross, Mr., rewarded for finding a 

money-borrower 498 

Rumncy, Mr., letter of Washington 

to 171,372 

Rush, Dr. Benjamin, attends Captain 

Leslie 186 

sketch of 186 

Rush, Richard 178, 418 

Rus.^ian minister, letter of, to G. W. 

P. Custis 61 

Russian victories, oration on, by G. 

W. P. Custis 585 



INDEX. 



641 



Sachem, Inrlian, meets Washington 
in the Ohio country and prophe- 
sies 302 

St Clair, General, defeat of. 416 

Washitio;ton's anger on hearing 

of defeat of 417 

first interview of, with Washing- 
ton after his defeat ^ 419 

St. Simon, Marquis de, at head of 

troops on De Grasse's fleet. . . . 233 
Saratoga, influence in Europe of the 

victory at 208 

Scott, General Charles 413 

biographical sketch of 414 

Servant, Billy, Washington's favor- 
ite 157,224, 379 

Bishop, Thomas, Washington's 

oldest 158, 161, 374, 377 

Sharpless, profile likeness of Wash- 
ington and G. W. Lafavette, 

by ;.517, 525 

Sheep-shearing, annual, at Arling- 
ton House 583 

Sherman, Roger 395 

Siege of Boston 280 

Charleston 334 

Sigourney, Mrs., poem of, on the 

tomb of Washington's mother. . 149 

Simcoe, Lieutenant-Colonel 201 

Sinclair, Sir John, Washington's 

correspondence with 446 

Sister of VVashington (Mrs. Fielding 
Lewis), resemblance of, to her 

brother 147 

Smallwood, Colonel, regiment of 189, 264 

at battle of Long Island 265 

Smith, Lieutenant-Colonel William 

S 373 

adventure of, with Bishop 377 

Smith, Samuel Stanhope, president 

of college at Princeton 77 

Smith, Stuart's manikin when 
painting the figure of Washing- 
ton 521 

Snow, Gideon, Custis's letter to. . . . 40 

letter of, to Custis 39 

Sportsman, Washington as a 384 

Stable, Washington's, in Philadel- 
phia 397 

Stag, carcass of the Washington. . . 391 
Statue of Washington, by Canova . 525 
Stephen, General Adam, conduct of, 

at Germantown 196 

Steuben, Baron, at Monmouth 223 

in Virginia .334 

Stewart, Colonel, at Monmouth 219 

Stewart, General Walter 355, 404 

Stockton, Richard, wife of 177 

biographical sketch of. 177 

Strength of arm of Washington.. . . 519 
Stuart, Dr. David, husband of Mr. 

Custis's mother 86 



Stuart, Dr. David, Washington's let- 
ter to, concerning reception days 407 
Stuart, Gilbert Charles, ])ortraits of 

Washington by 520, 628 

biographical sketch of 520 

Sullivan, General, at Germantown. 199 

Surrender of Charleston 33-1 

Surrender of Cornwallis's army at 

Yorktown " 229, 247 

Tarleton, Colonel, slighted at York- 
town 25i 

humiliated in the street at York- 
town 253 

anecdote of 253 

sketch of 253 

Teeth, Washington lost his, in 1789 520 
Theatre in New York, Washington's 

attendance at 367 

Theatrical company, old Ameri- 
can' 367,368 

The retired president 433 

Thomson, Charles, at MountVernon 382 

sketch of 382 

Tilghman, Lieutenant-Colonel, car- 
ries news of capture of Corn- 

wallis to Congress 246 

Tomb of Major-General John Cus- 
tis, inscription on 17 

of Washington, speech of G. W. 

P.^Custis at 64, 591 

Lafayette at the 591 

Tomb for Washington, proposed. . . 444 

Tory, term of, how derived 332 

Tour, Washington's, to the eastern 

states 398 

Treason of General Lee 292 

Treaty with France proclaimed at 

Valley Forge 278 

Trenton, Washington's reception at 393 
Trumbull, Governor, important de- 
spatch to 283 

Trumbull, John, the artist 285 

his equestrian portrait of Wash- 
ington and its faithfulness. .519, 520 
Trumbull, Jonathan, admitted to 
president's house on Sunday 

evenings 1 74 

important despatch to, from Wash- 
ington 283 

Welcome supplies from, at camp- 
of Washington 285 

Valedictory of President Washing- 
ton, Mrs. Echard's description of 434 
Rembrandt Peale's recollections 

of 434 

Valley Forge, American winter- 
quarters there 208 

march of Americans to 209 

headquarters at 275 

sufferings of the American army at 276 



41 



642 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Valley Forjje, how the army at, ob- 
tained suiiplies 277 

Vandcpnt, Captain, at New York. . 342 

Vaults, old and new, at Mount Ver- 
non 439 

Vergennes, Count dc, foelin<:s of, on 
hearing of the battle at German- 
town 208 

Vessels, English, burned at York- 
town 240 

Villede Paris 235 

battle of, with British ship Bar- 
flcur 238 

Virginia, Benedict Arnold's invasion 

of 232, 233 

Vulcan, a French hound, anecdote of 388 

"Waller, Benjnmin, letter of, to Mrs. 

Martha "Custis 498 

Walnut-street prison, John Nichol- 
son in 328 

TVansey, visit of, to Washington . . . 408 
War-tent, Washington's, at Arling- 
ton Spring 65 

War-sword, Washington's 160 

Washington, Baron Von, letter of, 

concerning his family 126 

Washington, Bushrod 470 

Washington, Fort, captured by the 

British and Hessians 344 

Washington Lawrence 1 52 

Washington, George, letter of, to 
Benedict Calv-ert, concerning the 

marriage of J. P. Custis 34 

•adopts two of the children of J. P. 

Custis 38,255 

letter of, to Nelly Custis, concern- 
ing love and coquetry 41 

letter of, to Lawrence Lewis 45 

orders marriage license for Law- 
rence Lewis and Nelly Custis. . 45 
appointed commander-in-chief of 

the army in 1 797 46 

correspondence of 73, 467, 533, 570 

ancestors of 125 

birth-i)tace of, marked 127 

displayed 133 

appointment of, as commandor-in- 
chief of American army in 1775. 134 

wife of, in camp 138 

anecdote of, respecting an alarm . 138 

visit of, to his mother 141 

dances a minuet 143 

last visit of, to his motiier 145 

at Mount Vernon 151 

letter of, to his wife, announcing 
his appointment to the com- 
mand of the army in 1775 151 

member of Virginia assembly. . . . 153 

his election expenses 1 53 

his personal ap- j 155,164,385,430 
pearauce ... ( 485, 487, 492 



PAGE 

Washington, George, member of 

Continental Congress 155 

habits of, at Mount Vernon 156 

a surveyor 1 56 

as a master of slaves 157 

aversion of, to medicine 162 

an early riser 162 

ill health of, in French war 162 

his great hibors 163 

his importntions from London . . . 163 
his appearance on horseback when 

abroad 164, 385 

his dress 165 

his inspection of his stables 165 

called to command independent 

companies in 1774 165 

diet of 166 

his agricultural improvements.. . . 167 

products of his estate 167 

Nelson, the favorite charger of. 166, 249 

on liis farm 168 

dining hour of ] 69 

habits of, at dinner 169 

his invariable "Toast". .169, 250, 452 

habits of, in his family 171 

child in Ireland named after him . 172 

an observer of the Sabbath 173 

a communicant of the Protestant 

Ejiiscopal church 173 

his moral power and his sympa- 
thies 175 

Gouveriieur Morris rebuked by. . . 175 
journey of, to seat of government 
a continued scene of triumph. . 176 

his opinion of militia 1 87, 538 

made dictator 188 

in battle at Princeton ... 1 90 

ap])roachin6f Germantown 194 

exposure of, at Germantown 201 

letter of, to Conirress, concerning 

the battle of Germantown 207 

on the march to Valley Forge . . . 209 

determines to attack Clinton 213 

summary of exploits of 215 

on the Held of Monmouth 220 

exposure of, at Monmouth 222 

sends deceptive letters 233 

visits l)e Grasse's flag-ship 235 

at Willinmsbnrg 240 

has domestic affliction 254 

at the death-bed of .T. P. Custis. 255, 505 
journey of, to the Ohio in 1770 . . 300 
ills defence of the soldiers' rights 

to land 300 

company with, in the Ohio country 302 
meets an Indian sachem in the 

Ohio country 302 

speech of Indian sachem respect- 
ing 303 

clemency of 319, 320 

refuses to go into a land specula- 
tion with Robert Morris 326 



INDEX. 



643 



Washington, George, advice of, to 

Robert Morris 326 

commander-in-chief of the provi- 
sional army in 1798 327 

visits Robert Morris in prison .... 327 
happy in the selection of his officers 345 
letter of, respecting a dancing as- 
sembly at Alexandria 366 

his love of theatrical performances 366 

at the theatre in New York 367 

in retirement at Mount Ver- 
non 370, 453, 464 

resignation of commission of. 370 

life of, at Mount Vernon 371 

drawings by 371 

letter of, to Mr. Rumney, respect- 
ing paving-stone 372 

at the battle of the Monongahela. 375 

called to convention of 1787 381 

announcement to, of his election 
to the presidency of the United 

States 382, 467 

as a sportsman 384 

kennel of. 384 

horses and hounds of 385 

appearance of, when hunting 385 

hunting habits of 386 

on horseback 386 

last hunt of 389 

reception of, at Trenton 393 

inaugurated first president of the 

United States 393 

residence of, in New York 394 

levees of 396 

severe illness of, in New York . . . 398 
attempted stealthy departure of, 

from New York" in ] 790 400 

embarkation of, from New York in 

1790 401 

journey of, from New York to 

Mount Vernon in 1790 402 

in Philadelphia and Mount Vernon 405 

home and household of 406 

public days of. 406 

exacts weekly reports from his 

agents 410 

endeavors of, to avoid notoriety. . 411 
anger of, on learning St. Clair's 

defeat 417 

parting of, with his officers at New 

York in 1783 420 

tour of, to southern states in 1791 424 

punctuality of 427 

personal description of 430, 487 

private papers of 436 

his farewell dinner 436 

remains of, asked by government 

for interment under the capital. 440 
final action of Congress respecting 

remains of. 443 

surveys made by 445 

fiicsimile of 445 



PAGE 

Washington, George, rides of, over 

his estate 445 

dines at Alexandria 451 

reviews troops at Alexandria 452 

habits of, respecting correspond- 
ence 454 

once thrown from a horse 459 

in the old French and Indian 

war 463 

from 1759 till 1775 in domestic life 

and in continental Congress... 464 
as commander-in-chief of armies'. 464 

his return from victory 464 

in retirement ". 464 

visited by Lafayette 465 

in convention of states 466 

president of the United States. . . 468 

last military command of 469 

last employment of, at Mount Ver- 
non 472 

commencement of illness of 473 

Lear's account of illness of 473 

last night of the life of 475 

calls for his wills 476 

his death 476, 497, 510 

interment of 477, 478 

weight, size, form, and features 

of 481, 527 

Trumbull's equestrian portrait of. 481 
examples of his power of arm. 482, 483 
power of the limbs and size of 

hands of 484 

physiognomy of 485 

personal ajipcarance of, admired 

in New York in 1 773 486 

sketch of personal appearance of, 

by an unknown hand 487-490 

awe and reverence inspired by . . . 489 
personal recollections of, by Sulli- 
van ." 492 

journey of, toward Williamsburg. 499 
first acquaintance of, with Mrs. 

Custis 500 

courtship and marriage of 500-.502 

call of, into public life in 1787 . . . 505 

portraits of 516, 624 

loss of the teeth of 520 

anecdote of his sitting to Stuart. . 522 
directions of, respecting manage- 
ment of his farms 595 

Funeral oration, by General Lee, 

before Congress 615 

Washington, Mrs., at headquarters. 287 

drawing-rooms of 395, 408 

accident at drawing-room of 396 

beloved in the army 403 

Griswold statement respecting. . . 408 
narrow escape of, in a carriage. . . 426 
letter of, concerning the remains 

of her husbiind 441 

an accomplished Virginian house- 
wife 45.') 



64-i 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

"Washington, Mrs., {grandchildren of, 
sent for on occasion of Wash- 
ington's illness 475 

at the death-bed of her husband. . 477 

ancestry and birth of 496 

first niarria<:e of 496 

children of 496 

death of children of 496 

death of husband of 497, 510 

lepal advisers of 497 

first acquaintance of, with Wash- 
ington 499 

in continental camp 503, 504 

leaves home for public life in New 

York 506 

establishment of, in New York. . . 506 

in public life in New York 507 

renewals of acquaintance with. . . 507 
attendance of, on religious ser- 
vices 508 

visits of oUl soldiers to 50.S 

retirement of, to domestic life 509 

devotional practices of 509 

description of, in domestic life.. . . 510 
yields the remains of her husband 

to the federal government 511 

letter of condolence to, from the 

Earl of Buclian 511 

mode of life of, after her husband's 

death 513 

death of 513 

personal appearance of 514 

neatness of 514 

miniature of, worn by her husband 528 

Washington, Mrs. Lund 39 

Washington, William, sketch of 354 

"Washington's March" 369 

Watson, John F., erects monuments 
to Generals Nash and Agnew, 

and Lieutenant Bird 204 

Wayne, General Anthony 212 

Wertmuller, portrait of Washington 

by 526 

Westford, resident at Mount Ver- 
non 157 



PAGE 

West Toint, Washington at 274 

Whig, term of, how derived 332 

Whiskey insurrection, account of 

the 359 

White, Major, killed at German- 
town 199 

White, Right Rev. William, D.D.. . 173 
" Widow of Malabar," translation of, 

by Colonel Humphreys 399 

Will, Washington's " 439, 458 

Williams, Otho Holland, biographi- 
cal sketch of. 355 

Williams, artist in crayon, likeness 

of Washington by.' 523 

Williamsburg, old capital of Vir- 
ginia 154 

Wood, William B., in Walnut-street 

prison 328 

Yorktown, surrender at 229, 247 

preparations for the siege of. 230 

attack upon, by the allies 240 

effect of cannonade upon the de- 
fences of 240 

constant e.x.posure of Washington 

at the siege of. 242 

patriotism of Governor Nelson at. 243 
headquarters of Cornwallis at.. . . 444 
letter from Clinton, received by 
Cornwallis, urging him to hold 

out to the last extremity 244 

death of Colonel Cochran at 245 

details of the surrender at 247 

total numbers of the army surren- 
dered at 247 

delivery of British colors at 249 

Cornwallis, the guest of Washing- 
ton after the surrender of 249 

how Lord North received the news 

of the surrender of 250 

Colonel Tarleton at 251 

sraall-pox and camp-fever at, after 

the surrender 253 

at the present time an inconsidera- 
ble village 330 



THE END. 



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